Indian Council of World Affairs

The Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) organized a curtain raiser seminar on the UN Summit of the Future on 19 September 2024 at Sapru House. The focus of the Seminar was on two overarching themes of the Summit, encompassing the priorities of the Pact of the Future, which were Sustainable Development and Transforming Global Governance. The seminar saw the participation of former diplomats, academicians, experts, and scholars from Indian universities and think tanks. 

In her welcome remarks, Ms. Nutan Kapoor Mahawar, Additional Secretary, ICWA underscored the critical need for renewed multilateralism at the upcoming UN Summit of the Future scheduled for September 22-23, 2024 given the current global atmosphere of polarization, conflict and insecurity. She outlined the three key outcome documents of the Summit: the Pact for the Future, the Declaration on Future Generations, and the Global Digital Compact, aimed at addressing pressing global challenges. The importance of inter-generational solidarity and the necessity of international cooperation to ensure an inclusive and sustainable future for all generations was highlighted. 

The first session on Sustainable Development was chaired by Amb. Manjeev Puri, Former Ambassador/DPR to UN and lead Climate Change negotiator, and presently Distinguished Fellow, TERI. The speakers were Mr. Shashi Shekhar Vempati, Co-Founder DeepTech for Bharat Foundation, former CEO - Prasar Bharati (DD&AIR), Dr. Ajey Lele (Retd.), Deputy Director General, MP-IDSA, Dr. Shailly Kedia, Associate Director, Sustainable Development and Outreach, TERI. 

The speakers in Session I emphasized the importance of achieving a "Viksit Bharat" by 2047 through sustainable means. Attention was drawn to the role of global governance in determining the destiny of individual nations, especially the countries of the Global South. It endorsed the focus of the UN Summit on accelerating the timely achievement of SDGs. It dwelt upon the reasons for the delay such as the Covid Pandemic and present-day conflicts and called for collective focus on SDG fulfilment as a central objective of multilateralism. India’s contribution through a variety of global climate-friendly initiatives such as International Solar Alliance (ISA), Coalition for Disaster Resistant Infrastructure (CDRI), and Global Biofuels Alliance (GBA) were highlighted, in addition to its myriad domestic efforts. 

Ethics and risks of new and emerging technologies such as AI were discussed while emphasizing the need for regulation and internationally agreed norms on their use. The need for publicly accessible datasets to ensure AI development is inclusive and will result in sustainable livelihoods was noted. On climate change, the need to set at COP 29 a new collective quantified goal or a climate finance target taking into account the needs of the Global South was emphasized. The discussions in Session I culminated in a call to reinforce community resilience and moral integrity while leveraging innovative solutions to confront pressing environmental and social challenges. 

The second session on Transforming Global Governance was chaired by Amb. Asoke Mukerjee, Former Permanent Representative of India to the United Nations. The speakers were Dr. C.S.R. Murthy, Former Professor (Retd.), School of International Studies, JNU, Dr. Rajat Kathuria, Dean, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Shiv Nadar University, Dr. Archana Negi, Associate Professor, School of International Studies, JNU. 

The speakers emphasized India’s call for reformed multilateralism, with a focus on two main areas: a human-centric approach to global governance and the need for India's participation in global governance decisions. It was noted that putting the human-centric focus at the centre of global governance and multilateralism has been India’s consistent policy since it became a founding member of the UN. As opposed to the recent plurilateral bodies such as G-20, it was pointed out that the UN system is based on treaties reflecting a higher level of commitments on part of countries. It was also mentioned that every good treaty has a review provision, with Article 109 of the UN Charter being such a provision which needs to be explored. Challenges posed by adopting a multi-stakeholder approach on issues of international peace and security were mentioned. 

Session II also emphasized that unfettered markets have not led to efficiencies and enhanced welfare. A rules-based market system with effective enforcement capacity was called for. The session addressed the need for reforms in international financial institutions such as the IMF, changing the culture of the organization and increasing quota for developing countries. The discussion highlighted signs of stagnation in the functioning of the WTO, including a crisis of credibility based on free-liberal trade and a jeopardised dispute settlement system. 

Overall, the Seminar articulated optimism that, amidst ongoing geopolitical shifts, the UN Summit of the Future could foster meaningful dialogue and cooperation among nations, ultimately leading to impactful solutions for global challenges, emphasizing on the need for a spirit of compromise on all sides as stated by the UN Secretary General.

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