Preparation of the United Nations 2024 Summit of the Future

The United Nations multilateral summits bring together leaders from 193 countries to discuss and address global challenges and opportunities. These diplomatic gatherings provide a platform for dialogue, negotiation, and cooperation among nations. Summits allow leaders to collectively deal with pressing global issues such as climate change, terrorism, poverty, sustainable development and pandemics. By sharing perspectives, experiences, and expertise, countries can develop consensual comprehensive solutions that may have a far-reaching impact on the future.

A cardinal decision

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) decided by consensus on 8 September 2022 to convene the Summit of the Future which will be held on 22 and 23 September 2024, in New York. It will be preceded by a preparatory ministerial meeting to be organized on 18 September 2023.The theme of the Summit will be "Summit of the Future: multilateral solutions for a better tomorrow".

It is already agreed that the Summit of the Future will have an important role to play in reaffirming the Charter of the United Nations, reinvigorating multilateralism, boosting implementation of existing commitments, deciding on concrete solutions to challenges and restoring trust among Member States.

As requested by Member States, the UN Secretary-General will provide Member States with "concise, action-oriented recommendations" through the issuance of a series of Policy Briefs over the first half of 2023. The Policy Briefs will provide more details on specific proposals that may be considered by Member States as they discuss the scope of the Summit of the Future.

Informal consultations

The UNGA President appointed Namibia and Germany as co-facilitators in order to facilitate open, transparent and inclusive intergovernmental consultations on the preparatory process of the Summit. This process of the Summit will consist of: (a) Consultations to determine the scope of the Summit, topics and organization of the interactive dialogues and the process of negotiations to conclude the outcome document; (b) Negotiations to conclude the outcome document with adequate time for the negotiating sessions.

Acting in this spirit, Namibia and Germany have already circulated a Concept Note for Informal Consultations on the Scope and Elements of the Summit of the Future. This document is expected to help all countries elaborate an action-oriented outcome document entitled "A Pact for the Future", to be agreed in advance by consensus through intergovernmental negotiations.

The two facilitators document will help guide relevant discussions and consultations , as it contains some basic criteria to support actual consideration of the kind of elements that would help define the eventual scope for the Summit of the Future.

These criteria are:

·Reinvigorate the multilateral system and strengthen global governance to respond to current and future challenges, in line with the UN Charter and international law;

·Identify and address gaps in global governance, especially those that have emerged as obstacles to the achievement of Agenda 2030;