By Oritro Karim
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 19 2024 – In early September, Typhoon Yagi, a deadly tropical cyclone, hit Southeast Asia and Southern China, causing widespread destruction. According to the United Nations (UN), wind speeds, reaching 213 kilometers per hour, as well as heavy flooding and severe landslides, have devastated affected areas. Yagi is the strongest natural disaster to hit the South China Sea in three decades, leaving over 500 people killed, 38 missing, and 1,900 injured.

Officials estimate that 292 people have been killed in Vietnam and over 100 have been killed in Myanmar. A spokesperson for The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), stated that the death toll could be even higher than what was previously reported and that the typhoon has affected over 631,000 people.

The typhoon and subsequent flooding caused considerable damage to critical infrastructures, such as water purification systems, making way for a host of waterborne diseases and widespread water insecurity. The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimates that approximately 400,000 households have been left without access to clean water.

Currently, the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF are on the frontlines of affected areas distributing clean water and water-purification tablets. “Clean water is critical to help prevent food and waterborne disease, and for maintaining safe care and operations at health care facilities, whether it is for people injured in the typhoon and or those needing urgent routine health care”, stated Dr. Angela Pratt, WHO representative for Vietnam.

Additionally, Yagi has caused significant damage to thousands of homes across Southeast Asia. WHO estimates that approximately 130,000 houses have been destroyed as a result of severe flooding. Hundreds of healthcare facilities and schools have been damaged or destroyed as well, with approximately 2 million children in Vietnam alone facing elongated disruptions to their education.

Myanmar, particularly, has seen widespread displacement as a result of this. Myanma Alinn, the government-run newspaper of Myanmar, reports that 438 temporary relief camps have been opened to support the 240,000 people that have been internally displaced.

The Myanmar state disaster response agency informed reporters that extensive flooding has led to road blockages, compromised bridges, and fallen electricity lines, all of which have greatly impeded relief efforts and telecommunications between districts.

Yagi has also caused a great deal of damage to the agricultural systems of the affected regions. The latest reports from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development state that the typhoon had besieged over 97,735 hectares of rice fields. In addition, over 11,746 hectares of vegetables and 6,902 hectares of fruit trees have been damaged. This has overwhelmed Asian farmers, putting them in a state of critical financial jeopardy.

Experts predict that Southeast Asia’s pre-existing concerns of food insecurity are to be greatly exacerbated. Sheela Matthew, the World Food Programme’s (WFP) representative in Myanmar, described the typhoon’s impact on hunger and malnutrition in affected areas as “nothing less than devastating”.

Furthermore, the economy of affected areas have seen significant losses as a result of the typhoon. Strong winds and heavy floods tore into Vietnam’s highly arable Red River Delta, damaging critical manufacturing hubs. According to an initial government assessment, it is estimated that Vietnam has seen losses of up to 1.6 billion dollars.

Currently, the UN and their affiliated organizations are distributing food, drinking water, and hygiene supplies to families in areas that have been hit the hardest. They are also monitoring levels of waterborne diseases for the coming weeks and months. The UN predicts that approximately 994 million dollars will be needed for response efforts. As of now, only 252 million dollars have been raised.

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By Naureen Hossain
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 19 2024 – As the United Nations gears up to host the international community for the high-level meeting week, the UN chief appeals to world leaders to commit to universal agreements to work towards solutions.

On Wednesday, Secretary-General António Guterres spoke to reporters ahead of the upcoming 79^th high-level session of the UN General Assembly and the Summit of the Future. This year’s General Debate and the upcoming Summit will strive to seek solutions towards institutional reforms and resolving wide-ranging and interconnected issues, including climate, forced displacement, and conflict.

“Crises are interacting and feeding off each other—for example, as digital technologies spread climate disinformation that deepens distrust and fuels polarization,” Guterres said. “Global institutions and frameworks are today totally inadequate to deal with these complex and even existential challenges.”

For Guterres and the UN, the upcoming Summit of the Future will set out to address the deeper issue of reforming the multilateral systems that have been in place from the organization’s inception.  “So many of the challenges that we face today were not on the radar 80 years ago when our multilateral institutions were born,” he said. “Our founders understood that times would change. They understood that the values that underpin our global institutions are timeless—but the institutions themselves cannot be frozen in time.”

What will differentiate the Summit of the Future from previous high-level meetings, such as the SDG Summit of 2016, is its focus on the proposed solutions that need to be taken towards the greater issues affecting the world and its institutions today. According to Guterres, this is supposed to contrast with the Sustainable Development Goals and their focus on the specific issues that need to be addressed.

“One of the very important aspects that is in the Summit of the Future is the recognition that our institutions need to be reformed,” said Guterres. “The Summit of the Future takes into account the fact that to be able to implement the SDGs… all the extraordinary declarations, we need to reform institutions.”

One of the most significant calls to reform has been for the Security Council. This includes the demand to improve representation of the member states from Asia, Latin America, and Africa.

Guterres remarked that the Council’s formation was in a post-war world, during a period where many nations, such as those in Africa, were still under colonial rule. In the case of Africa, they have been underrepresented with reduced influence.

“In no place is this inequality more obvious and more, I would say, unacceptable than in the Security Council of United Nations, where you have, for instance, three European permanent members and no African permanent member, which, of course, doesn’t correspond at all to the present situation of the world,” he said.

Guterres did not indicate if there was a timeline for reform implementation, noting that the member states must first adopt the Pact for the Future, one of the key documents currently in the works, in order to move forward. He suggested that there would be agreement on improving transparency and procedure within the council, but also expressed skepticism that certain aspects, such as the veto, would be outright abolished.

As world leaders and stakeholders across the international community convene in New York for the High-Level Meeting week, the spirit of cooperation and shared solidarity is more crucial than ever. Guterres stressed the need for the member states to finalize the conditions in the outcome documents in time for the first day of the Summit.

The UN and its partners seek to strengthen multilateral systems during a time of increasing hostility and conflicts breaking out around the world, including the most recent news of explosions across Lebanon. When asked if it seemed like the world was heading towards a global conflict like a third world war, Guterres said: “I think we are perfectly on time to avoid the move into World War III.”

He added: “What we are witnessing is a multiplication of conflicts and the sense of impunity… It’s a sense of impunity everywhere. I mean, any country or any military entity, militias… feel that they can do whatever they want because nothing will happen to them… And the fact that nobody takes even seriously the capacity of the [global] powers to solve problems on the ground makes the level of impunity an enormous level.”

“I’m much more worried with the dramatic impact in the life of civilians, women, children, and elderly people, everywhere. From Sudan, from Myanmar, from Gaza, than of the risk of the second World War… the third World War, that I still believe we have all the conditions to avoid.”

By Naureen Hossain and Joyce Chimbi
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 19 2024 – Amid unprecedented global challenges and a growing list of countries in crisis, there is an existential threat to decades of development gains—with the global community marked by intensified armed conflict, forced displacements, and the debilitating effects of climate crises.

One in five children worldwide lives in or flees from conflict. The number of crisis-affected children in need of quality education has increased from 75 million in 2016 to 224 million today.

The global fund for education in emergencies and protracted crises within the UN, Education Cannot Wait, has released their results report for 2023, portraying a vision of determination, hope, courage, and success amid all challenges.

Yasmine Sherif, ECW’s Executive Director, launches the organization’s 2023 annual report: Results Against All Odds. Credit: Estefanía Jiménez/UN

“The report is entitled ‘Results against all odds,’ and you can imagine all odds because we are seeing more armed conflict, a growth of climate-induced disasters and the biggest forced displacement since World War II,” says Yasmine Sherif, ECW’s Executive Director.

To give all children everywhere a lifeline, the report emphasizes the importance of joint programming and funding, noting a USD 600 million gap towards the global fund’s USD 1.5 billion funding target to support quality education for a total of 20 million children by 2026.

“When you fund education… You invest in these children; you make their dreams a reality. By supporting Education Cannot Wait, donors are also investing in the United Nations, as we help realize the Secretary General’s reform on joint programming and coordination, and quality results,” Sherif reminded funders. “It’s a proven model. Whether from the public or private sectors, you can join Education Cannot Wait and be part of reducing the learning crisis and making a difference in the lives of 224 million children.”

And the need is enormous.

Education Cannot Wait’s #AfghanGirlsVoices global campaign highlights real-life testimonies of hope, courage and resilience by Afghan girls denied their right to education. Credit: ECW

Key challenges include gender disparities, which ECW and partners are tackling, with girls representing 51 percent of all children reached by the fund’s overall investments. Within the Fund’s emergency responses portfolio, the proportion of children reached in response to a climate-induced emergency nearly doubled, from 14 percent in 2022 to 27 percent in 2023. The report also highlights the education crisis in Afghanistan, the only country in the world to ban girls’ education, denying  1.5 million girls their most basic right to education. The report also stresses funding shortfalls and advocates for increased investment to achieve the UN’s sustainable development goal on education by 2030, as a foundation to all other goals.

The report shows that school enrollment or attendance improved in 95 percent of ECW-supported programmes; of these, 72 percent showed gender-equitable progress, whereby enrollment or attendance improved for both boys and girls and there was improvement towards gender parity.

Notably, programmes in Nigeria, Pakistan and Somalia reported significant increases in children’s participation in formal education despite challenges such as conflict, displacement and climate shocks. Some 86 percent of programmes reporting had transition rates from non-formal to formal education above 60 percent. Slightly over half of programmes achieved retention or completion rates above 75 percent, demonstrating how volatile crisis situations exacerbate global challenges in primary and secondary school completion.

The already enormous needs are growing. Sherif says that in less than a year of renewed conflict in Gaza, “according to the UNRWA Commissioner-General, Philippe Lazzarini, the entire school system has been decimated.” She also pointed to the intensifying conflicts in the Sahel, Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ukraine, Haiti, and the Middle East. “We have the largest displacement crisis in the world in Sudan today, with 4.6 million children displaced, the majority inside Sudan, and over a million as refugees in neighboring countries.”

“I was in Ukraine last week, where the education of 4 million children has been disrupted, especially in the areas close to the front lines. “She also stressed the crisis in Afghanistan. “We are now marking the third anniversary of the ban on girls’ education beyond grade six; an estimated 1.5 million girls cannot attend school due to their gender, this is unacceptable,” she observed.

ECW supports holistic, quality education to ensure no child is left behind. There is a particular focus on closing the gender gap in education, reaching children with disabilities, refugee children, and vulnerable children from host communities, stressing that these children show great determination and resilience in the face of adversity.

Despite multiple, complex, and snowballing challenges, the report shows that ECW and its partners increased education participation, learning, and well-being for children in crisis contexts.

This progress, along with the growing number of children reached, highlights the consistent work of ECW and its partners in meeting the educational needs of crisis-affected children.

However, the report underlines how persistent underfunding is preventing ECW from scaling up its portfolio allocations to reach more boys and girls, with an additional $600 million urgently needed in donor contributions for ECW and partners to meet the Fund’s 2023-2026 Strategic Plan’s target of reaching a total of 20 million girls and boys by 2026.

“Speed is important when you operate in crisis. At the same time, it is important to have depth, quality, inclusiveness and sustainability  too.” Sherif called on funders to join ECW and its global partners in providing a package that enables crisis-affected children to learn, heal from their traumas and thrive.

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By Nudhara Yusuf
WASHINGTON DC, Sep 19 2024 – A major event at UN Headquarters – Summit of the Future scheduled for September 22-23– is being billed as a once in a generation opportunity for the international community to grapple with important questions, and forge a new path, for the benefit of all.

Nudhara Yusuf, a Research Associate with the Global Governance, Justice & Security Program at the Washington-based Stimson Center, where she is the Executive Coordinator of the Global Governance Innovation Network (GGIN), shares her perspective on the upcoming Summit and its impact on effective global governance in the 21st century.

1. What are the biggest priorities and objectives of UNGA79?

So, UNGA79 really stands for the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, which began on September 10th, 2024, and will run until September 9th, 2025 when the 80th session begins. September 10th introduced an agenda for the 79th regular session of the UNGA. Provisionally this includes; (a) promotion of sustained economic growth and sustainable development; (b) maintenance of international peace and security; (c) development of Africa; (d) promotion of human rights; (e) effective coordination of humanitarian assistance efforts; (f) promotion of justice and international law; (g) disarmament; (h) drug control, crime prevention and combating international terrorism; and the usual (i) organizational and administrative matters.

Now, this is what the year ahead will focus on. When we, self-proclaimed UN nerds, say UNGA79 this time of year though, we’re referring to the wonderfully energized chaos that is about to descend onto 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Ave New York during UNGA High-Level week when the general debate is opened.

This will be the 24th of September and run through the end of the week. Of course, the key thing on all our minds are the days right before that, with the Summit of the Future Action Days from 20-21 September and the Summit of the Future itself from 22-23 September.

If the Summit comes close to the level of ambition it is striving for it, it should have a huge influence on the general debate that follows. Its agreed outcomes of the Pact for the Future and annexed Declaration on Future Generations and Global Digital Compacts should be priority areas for Heads of States in their statements.

2. What’s the Summit of the Future all about, and how will it inform broader UN General Assembly objectives this September and beyond?

I wish there was a silver bullet answer to this question–I think many of us, including Member States, have been spending the better part of the last three years debating this. As a result of those discussions, here’s where I think we’re at: the Summit of the Future was an idea put on the table in the 2021 Our Common Agenda Report recognizing the fact that we cannot continue to tackle 21st-century challenges and opportunities with the 20th century foundational ideas and processes of the UN.

A system-wide rethink was needed to ensure, in the UN Secretary-General’s words, we went toward “breakthrough, not breakdown,” as a global society. Three years later I think the Summit continues to be a moment to bring together international leaders to decide how to deliver a better today and safeguard the opportunities of tomorrow.

But I think it’s a once-in-a-generation moment for another key reason. More and more the world out there questions what international cooperation can achieve. What the value of investing in global and regional organisations is?

How effective and resilient a rules-based world order stands in the face of today’s geopolitical tensions and fault lines? Why multilateral when bilateral could work? Never before has global leadership been given such a critical opportunity to put forth an answer to these questions than at this summit. I think this a key trust-building exercise for the UN, both among Member States, but also toward “we the peoples”, that the UN is critical to effective global governance in the 21st century.

3. What is the Pact for the Future, and why is it being introduced now?

The Pact for the Future is the Summit’s chief outcome document and is being co-facilitated by Germany and Namibia. It has a cross-cutting chapeau that considers human rights, gender equality, and other critical overarching issues. It then dives into five chapters, across which (where we stand at the current third revision in negotiations) there are sixty actions.

Still, the chapters include: (i) sustainable development and financing for development; (ii) international peace and security; (iii) science, technology and innovation and digital cooperation; (iv) youth and future generations; and (v) transforming global governance.

The Pact will also be annexed with a Declaration on Future Generations co-facilitated by Jamaica and Netherlands and constituting ‘guiding principles’, ‘commitments’, and ‘actions’ toward safeguarding future generations’ wellbeing; as well as a Global Digital Compact co-facilitated by Zambia and Sweden which has five main objectives: (i) close all digital divides and accelerate progress across the Sustainable Development Goals; (ii) expand inclusion in and benefits from the digital economy for all; (iii) foster an inclusive, open, safe and secure digital space that respects, protects and promote human rights; (iv) advance responsible, equitable and interoperable data governance approaches; and (v) enhance international governance of Artificial Intelligence for the benefit of humanity.

It’s worth noting that as of the date of this publication, all of three of documents are in their third revision and silence has been broken (countries say they do not agree to the text due to redlines) on all of them, with for example some Member States breaking on over 80 paragraphs of the Pact. This will lead to a bit of renegotiation so while the basic structure will remain the same, we’re likely to see the documents change from where they stand now right up till the days before the Summit.

Still, I think the idea behind the Pact for the Future has remained generally consistent–a concise and action-oriented document that will set humanity up for success as it heads toward the endpoint of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals and beyond. This is essentially the game plan for when the whistle blows on the final quarter.

4. How do UNGA79 and the Summit of the Future challenge the current global order?

This theory of change is another thing I think many of us have been contemplating. Muznah Siddiqui from UN University and I actually just published a paper with a German Journal (which we’re now converting into a book chapter in English ahead of UNGA79) that did a full trace from UN75 till date on what the theory of change of this process has been. I think there are broadly three ways to think about this.

On one level, UNGA79 and Summit of the Future will reaffirm many parts of the global order. That is a good thing; think international law, human rights, security, and justice–great!

On another level, the process of the Summit of the Future itself (when negotiations began in 2022) has had a fascinating influence. Hardly ever have we seen such strong vocal opinions from middle-power states. The massive weight given to international financial reform in the pact is a key indicator of this, as well as an influential group of some 53 small states that was convened by Singapore.

Negotiations are not being run by the usual suspects, we’re seeing and hearing that there’s actually quite a vocal and diverse set of opinions in the room. Now I realize that can be exhausting when trying to build consensus, especially as these negotiations were unfolding in the summer under the New York heat wave–suffocating was likely an understatement!

But it is indicative of a shift in global order. Middle power states, many from the Global South/Global Majority Countries, are taking a stand for what they expect out of this Summit. A Summit which, in truth, is a lot more about the countries who weren’t in the room at the UN’s founding in 1945 than not.

On a third level, this UNGA79 is being convened during a year when the most number of people in history would have gone or will go to the polls to vote in an election. With 64 countries hosting elections, the political significance of 2024 globally is not to be understated. In many countries, leadership has changed and people will be listening for what priorities look like for this new set of global leaders. The Summit’s timing therefore might actually be quite critical in shaping their points of view as we head into a new term for global cooperation, and thus potentially global order.

5. What has the road been like to get here – and what are the immediate next steps post-SOTF?

I think we’ve been paving this road while driving it. It’s been a real collective exercise from the UN Secretariat, Member States, and civil society, in both defining what we need and tracing out how to get there. From negotiations being open to then closing the door, to having consultations, and roadmaps, it’s been pretty inductive.

On the civil society side, the ‘Coalition for the UN We Need’ hosted a Road to the Summit series that traced key moments along the way, supporting informal dialogue on the sidelines. A couple of key milestones stand out to me:

i. 2021: The Our Common Agenda report that introduced the Summit of the Future in a series of four summits.

ii. 2022: The Transforming Education Summit (summit #1) and establishing the High-Level Advisory Board for Effective Multilateralism (originally for Global Public Good but this was pushed back on and changed). Also, this year it was decided that SOTF would not be a twin Summit with the SDG Summit as originally proposed, but pushed back a year.

iii. 2023: The SDG Summit (summit #2) which produced the SDG Political Declaration. The launch of the Breakthrough for People and Planet report by the High-Level Advisory Board. Establishing the AI Advisory Body. And civil society hosted the Global Future Forum which produced the interim People’s Pact for the Future.

iv. 2024 Jan: Negotiations really took off in full force at the beginning of the year, the zero drafts came out.

v. 2024 May: Civil society hosted the 2024 UN Civil Society Conference in Support of the Summit of the Future, convening over 3000 people from 115 countries, 317 Member State representatives, and 22 UN entities to launch 23 ImPact Coalitions and make a pretty big statement that civil society was a driver of this process.

vi. 2024 Summer: Negotiations seem to be hitting their peak. Silence being broken means countries are engaged an care about the outcome, but as suspected this will come down to the wire for the SOTF (summit #3).

What comes next is big though. All we are doing in September is saying “this is what we should do.” The follow-through will be critical, and this is currently penciled in for a review of the Pact at UNGA83 in 2028. Of course, we cannot leave the Pact on the shelf for the next four years, this is where the critical role of multistakeholder coalitions and groups will help drive forward specific reforms and actions especially as we head toward the World Social Summit (summit #4) at UNGA80 next year.

6. What are the potential criticisms or challenges UNGA79 might face?

A huge critique from last year, which will continue into this year, will be if Heads of State do not take this seriously and show up. Last year only one P5 head of state was at UNGA. Not only will Member States be critiqued for this, but the UN further loses credibility at this critical time if heads of state are not engaging at the summit. UN Missions thus need to be pushing quite hard with their capitals on the importance of showing up.

Another critique, which I certainly share, last year less than 12% of the people at the lectern for general debate were women. We’ve seen this mistake happen already, so I can guarantee that people will be watching with a critical eye this year.

Source: The Stimson Center

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By Thalif Deen
UNITED NATIONS, Sep 19 2024 – The United Nations, over the last year, has been relentlessly promoting the upcoming Summit of the Future – scheduled for September 22-23—as a landmark event.

And rightly so.

But, surprisingly, the provisional list of speakers, released early this week, reflects notable absentees for a high-level summit– the five permanent members (P5) of the Security Council — whose representatives do not include any head of state (HS) or head of government (HG).

The US, UK, France and Russia will be represented by “ministers” (the US probably represented by the secretary of state or the UN ambassador), while China is to be represented by a deputy prime minister (DPM), ranking still below a HS or a HG.

Does the absence of high-level political leaders from the P5 downgrade the significance of this much-ballyhooed summit meeting focusing on a “better future for humanity”?

The only HS and HGs are largely from the global South, including India, Brazil, Bangladesh, Chile, Iran, Peru, Pakistan, South Africa, Qatar and Costa Rica, among others– plus the Scandinavian countries.

At a press briefing September 18, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said one of issues before the summit is a longstanding proposal for the reform of the Security Council.

“One of the very important aspects in the Summit of The Future is the recognition that our institutions need to be reformed. And one of the institutions that needs that reform is the Security Council,” he pointed out.

He said one of the questions that is important in relation to the future relates exactly to the role of the P5 and the need to have a certain redistribution of power to make things more fair and more effective.

The Summit of the Future is about the need to have effective governance of artificial intelligence; about accelerating the fight against climate chaos; about the reform of the Security Council under the international financial architecture; about all the questions related to debt, and the lack of financial resources that are undermining the development of developing countries around the world.

The Summit of the Future is also about the questions of disarmament and especially, the problems of weaponization of new kinds of technological devices, including the use of autonomous weapons.

“So, I believe that if there is something today that addresses the real challenges that we face or tries to address, it is the Summit of the Future,” Guterres declared.

So, why are the P5 leaders skipping the summit? Is it for personal or political reasons?

Mandeep Tiwana, Chief Officer, Evidence and Engagement, at CIVICUS, a global alliance of civil society organisations and activists, told IPS whether P-5 leaders attend the Summit or not is immaterial.

Their bickering and unwillingness to act to stop the atrocities in the Occupied Palestinian Territories, Sudan and Ukraine show they are not credible actors in securing a better future for humanity, he said.

“With P-5 states presently preoccupied with pursuing their narrowly defined national interests, meaningful progress on peace, sustainable development and human rights for future generations is likely to come from smaller less powerful states that still believe in the power of international solidarity and cooperation. The world’s problems are too complex to be managed by the P-5 or by governments alone.”

So far, he said, the Pact for the Future – a key outcome document – offers little in terms of innovation to enhance people’s and civil society participation at the UN.

“If the current situation persists it would be a missed opportunity for the international community to advance the aspiration of a people’s United Nations that is fit for purpose to address present and future challenges. Already, intersecting global crises, political rivalries between countries, and limitations of heavily state-centric approaches are causing diplomatic impasses and hampering the UN’s effectiveness,” he declared.

Brenda Mofya, Oxfam International’s UN Representative, told IPS: “We need all nations to take this Summit — and the opportunity for sweeping reform it brings — seriously.”

“The P5 hold outsize power in the Security Council and throughout the multilateral system and their level of representation at such an event does send a message. This Summit is not the end – it is the beginning. As we see inequality, conflict and the climate crisis only deepen, leaders must redouble their efforts and restore people’s faith in the UN as the home for peace, security and cooperation,” said Mofya.

Andreas Bummel, co-Founder and Executive Director of Democracy Without Borders, told IPS the Summit of the Future was promoted as a once-in-a-generation opportunity to revamp the UN and multilateralism.

In some areas the outcome document represents a step forward but the Summit overall is not a breakthrough moment. This does not come as a surprise. The political landscape at the UN is contentious and consensus on far-reaching ideas is impossible to achieve, he argued.

Authoritarian governments, in particular, he pointed out, are not interested in strengthening the UN or transforming global governance.

“The absence of many heads of state from the Summit nonetheless is unfortunate. It certainly limits the significance of the event even further,” he said.

Purnima Mane, former President and CEO of Pathfinder International and former Deputy Executive Director (Programme) and UN Assistant-Secretary-General (ASG) at the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), told IPS the Summit of the Future is theoretically an important landmark UN event as promoted by the UN.

“But it can only be so, if all governments including the P-5 are represented at its highest or very senior levels i.e. Head of State or Head of Government.”

The provisional list of speakers suggests that this is not likely to be so for the P-5 countries. It is significant that representation at the senior most levels is largely from the South, from countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

With the themes of the Summit focusing on areas vital to the world’s future like sustainable development, international peace and security, science, technology and innovation and digital cooperation, youth and future generations, and transforming global governance, the Summit surely carries the potential of invigorating global commitment to these key issues vital for global development today and more so, tomorrow.

While the absence of the senior-most leadership from the P5 countries at the Summit is disheartening, she said, this can also be seen as a key opportunity for other countries to share their vision and express their willingness and capacity to engage with the issues being discussed, and thereby, step up and take on a much larger leadership role on these issues.

This might result in a transformation of the leadership of the future in its truest sense – a potential result that could be seen as much needed, declared Mane.

Meanwhile, when the high-level segment of the UN General Assembly took place last September, there were also several key world leaders missing—including, most importantly, leaders of the four of the five permanent members of the Security Council, the most powerful political body at the United Nations.

Only US President Joe Biden was there –while Emmanuel Macron of France, Xi Jinping of China, Vladimir Putin of Russia and Rishi Sunak of UK skipped the UN sessions.

As an article in Le Monde pointed out: “Such notable absences reflect the crisis affecting UN bodies, against a backdrop of an international stage that is crumbling.”

A former diplomat Gérard Araud, a one-time French ambassador to the United Nations, said, “Multilateralism is seriously compromised in an increasingly multipolar world.”

“The absence of Security Council leaders is yet another symptom, but not the only one, of a powerless UN, caused by the war in Ukraine and the rivalry between the United States and China.

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