“The post-Cold War era has ended, and we are moving towards a new global order and a multipolar world,” said António Guterres.
He highlighted geopolitical tension, gross violations of human rights, distrust of public institutions, new conflicts, terrorism, and the weaponization of new technologies.
The uncertainty was fueled by the rising threat of nuclear war and growing doubts about multilateralism, he added.
The short, known as The New Agenda for Peace “sets out a broad and ambitious set of recommendations that recognize the inter-linked nature of many of these challenges,” Mr. Guterres said.
The brief is framed around the core principles of trust, unity, and universality that provide the foundation of the UN Charter and a stable world, added the UN chief.
Five priority areas
The New Agenda for Peace presents twelve concrete sets of proposals for action, in five priority areas.
The Secretary-General called for strong measures to prevent conflicts at the global level and address geopolitical divisions, prioritizing diplomacy, and investments in regional security architectures.
Second, he advocates a “paradigm for prevention that addresses all forms of violence”, focusing on mediation and social cohesion; ensuring respect for human rights and meaningful participation of women in decision-making; and prioritizing the links between sustainable development, climate action, and peace.
“We must accelerate the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, recognizing that prevention and sustainable development are interdependent and mutually reinforcing,” said Mr. Guterres.
Update on peacekeeping
The third area calls for updating peacekeeping operations to adapt to today’s conflicts, many of which have remained unresolved for decades, driven by complex domestic, geopolitical and transnational factors.
“Peacekeeping operations will not succeed without peace to be maintained, nor will they achieve their goals without clear, prioritized and realistic mandates from the Security Council, centered on political solutions,” said Mr. Guterres.
Preventing the armament of emerging domains and technologies and promoting responsible innovation, is highlighted as the fourth key area, marking the need for global governance to address the threats posed by new technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous weapons systems.
Reforms are needed
The fifth priority area calls for urgent reforms in the Security Council, the General Assembly, the UN disarmament machinery, and the Peacebuilding Commission, to improve collective security.
“The Security Council in particular should more systematically seek the advice of the Commission on peace-building measures in the mandates of peace operations,” said Mr. Guterres.
Education, modernization
The Secretary-General also introduced other policy briefs on Transforming Education and UN 2.0, aimed at improving education systems and modernizing the UN to support the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.
In conclusion, all the Policy Briefs in the series aim to support the deliberations of the Member States in preparation for the Future Summit, in 2024.
The Summit, said Mr. Guterres, will be an occasion to address the serious risks and significant opportunities we face and to deliver on unfulfilled commitments.
He emphasized that it is important to “restore mutual trust and multilateral action, through a Pact for the Future (Summit outcome document) that updates global systems and frameworks to make them suitable for today’s and tomorrow’s challenges.”