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United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights Ian Fry speaks with members of press during a briefing at the UN House in Mandaluyong City on November 15, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News

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UN-IAN FRY

Agence France-Presse

<div><span class="fr-img-caption fr-fic fr-dib" style="width:960px"><span class="fr-img-wrap"><img src="https://od2-image-api.abs-cbn.com/prod/editorImage/172701756730920231115-un-special-rapporteur-ian-fry-JC5348.jpg" style="width:960px" class="fr-fic fr-dib" alt="United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights Ian Fry speaks with members of press during a briefing at the UN House in Mandaluyong City on November 15, 2023. Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File"/><span class="fr-inner" style="text-align:left">United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights Ian Fry speaks with members of press during a briefing at the UN House in Mandaluyong City on November 15, 2023. <em>Jonathan Cellona, ABS-CBN News/File</em></span></span></span></div><p>UNITED NATIONS -- The United Nations on Sunday adopted a &quot;Pact for the Future&quot; aimed at addressing sprawling 21st-century challenges ranging from conflict to climate change and human rights, despite last-minute objections from a group of countries led by Russia.</p><p>Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who organized the &quot;Summit of the Future,&quot; had billed it as a &quot;once-in-a-generation opportunity&quot; to reshape human history by rekindling international cooperation.</p><p>As an opening act for the annual high-level week of the UN General Assembly, which begins Tuesday, dozens of heads of state and government gathered for the signing of the text.</p><p>In the adopted version, leaders pledged to bolster the multilateral system to &quot;keep pace with a changing world&quot; and to &quot;protect the needs and interests of current and future generations&quot; facing &quot;persistent crisis.&quot;</p><p>&quot;We believe there is a path to a brighter future for all of humanity,&quot; the document says.</p><p>The pact outlines 56 &quot;actions,&quot; including commitments to multilateralism, upholding the UN Charter and peacekeeping.</p><p>It also calls for reforms to international financial institutions and the UN Security Council, along with renewed efforts to combat climate change, promote disarmament, and guide the development of artificial intelligence.</p><p>The adoption of the text faced a brief delay when Russia&#x27;s deputy minister of foreign affairs, Sergey Vershinin, introduced an amendment emphasizing the &quot;principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of states&quot; and urging the UN to avoid duplicating efforts.</p><p>Russia&#x27;s objections were backed by allies Belarus, North Korea, Iran, Nicaragua and Syria, but its amendment was overwhelmingly dismissed in a motion to take no action.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/world/2024/9/18/un-members-demand-end-to-unlawful-israeli-occupation-of-palestinian-territories-143">READ: UN members demand end to &#x27;unlawful&#x27; Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories</a></div><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/world/2024/9/4/un-weather-agency-warns-of-red-alert-after-record-heat-1438">READ: UN weather agency warns of &#x27;red alert&#x27; after record heat</a></div><div><strong>- Words to action -</strong></div><div><ivs-player data-ivs-key="e8c22c015ca9eafa76f1e3edfa03c603" data-ivs-spid="3001339" data-ivs-vid="3069346"></ivs-player> <script src="https://player.ivideosmart.com/ivsplayer/v4/dist/js/loader.js"></script></div><p>During the negotiations phase, Guterres had urged nations to show &quot;vision&quot; and &quot;courage,&quot; calling for &quot;maximum ambition&quot; to strengthen international institutions that struggle to respond effectively to today&#x27;s threats.</p><p>But while there are some &quot;good ideas,&quot; the text &quot;is not the sort of revolutionary document reforming the whole of multilateralism that Antonio Guterres had originally called for,&quot; Richard Gowan of the International Crisis Group told AFP.</p><p>That sentiment was widely shared among diplomats, many of whom expressed frustration when discussing the ambition and impact of the text, describing it as &quot;lukewarm,&quot; &quot;the lowest common denominator,&quot; and &quot;disappointing.&quot;</p><p>&quot;Ideally, you would hope for new ideas, fresh ideas,&quot; said one diplomat.</p><p>The fight against global warming was one of the sticking points in the negotiations, with references to the &quot;transition&quot; away from fossil fuels having disappeared from the draft text weeks ago, before being re-inserted.</p><p>Despite the criticism, it is still &quot;an opportunity to affirm our collective commitment to multilateralism, even in the difficult current geopolitical context,&quot; one Western diplomat said, emphasizing the need to rebuild trust between the Global North and South.</p><div><a class="fr-green fr-strong" href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/world/2024/9/19/-life-or-death-for-big-cities-should-planet-warm-3c-study-1706">READ: &#x27;Life or death&#x27; for big cities should planet warm 3C -- study</a></div><p>Developing countries have been particularly vocal in demanding concrete commitments on the reform of international financial institutions, aiming to secure easier access to preferential financing, especially considering the impacts of climate change.</p><p>The text does indeed include &quot;important commitments on economic justice and reforming the international financial architecture,&quot; Human Rights Watch (HRW) commented, while also praising &quot;the centrality of human rights.&quot;</p><p>However, world leaders &quot;still need to demonstrate that they are willing to act to uphold human rights,&quot; said Louis Charbonneau, HRW&#x27;s UN director.</p><p>Regardless of its content, the pact and its annexes -- a Global Digital Compact and a Declaration on Future Generations -- are non-binding, raising concerns about implementation, especially as some principles -- such as the protection of civilians in conflict -- are violated daily.</p><p>&quot;Our next task is to breathe life into them, to turn words into action,&quot; Guterres urged on Saturday.</p><div><strong>© Agence France-Presse</strong></div><div><strong>RELATED VIDEO:</strong></div><div><span class="fr-video fr-deletable fr-fvc fr-dvb fr-draggable" contenteditable="false" draggable="true"><iframe width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ErJlucTrnjI?&amp;wmode=opaque&amp;rel=0" frameBorder="0" allowfullscreen="" class="fr-draggable"></iframe></span><br/></div>

<p>The United Nations on Sunday adopted a "Pact for the Future" aimed at addressing sprawling 21st-century challenges ranging from conflict to climate change and human rights.</p>

The United Nations on Sunday adopted a "Pact for the Future" aimed at addressing sprawling 21st-century challenges ranging from conflict to climate change and human rights.

UN adopts pact promising to build 'brighter future' for humanity

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UN adopts pact promising to build 'brighter future' for humanity

Agence France-Presse,

Amélie Bottollier-Depois and Issam Ahmed

Published September 23, 2024 12:02 AM PHT

Read More:

United Nations

Pact for the Future

Summit of the Future

UN General Assembly

climate change

human rights

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