Stefano Gennarini
(ZENIT News – Center for Family and Human Rights / New York, 05.26.2024).- The General Assembly is negotiating two major agreements over the future of the organization and the world more widely. The agreements could concentrate power in the UN Secretary General in ways previously unforeseen. Some will see this as a major step toward one world government.
The stage is set for some of the most consequential negotiations at the United Nations in perhaps a generation. The “Pact for the Future” would expand the powers and reach of the United Nations system, while the “Global Digital Compact” would govern digital technology, including emerging artificial intelligence for the whole world.
Initial drafts were circulated earlier this year. Governments provided their initial responses in April. Now, beginning next week, they will negotiate the agreements.
The Pact for the Future is anticipated to position the UN system for whatever will replace the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which expires in six years. Even though none of the universal 17 goals and 169 targets agreed by the UN General Assembly in 2015 have been achieved, UN member states are already looking to what comes next.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres made several proposals, which he said were necessary to create a United Nations “2.0.” The changes to the UN system would grant the Secretary General greater powers, including the creation of an emergency platform to provide his office with power and resources to coordinate the UN response to shocks and emergencies related to the economy, conflict, climate, health, and other emergencies.
Guterres has also proposed the development of digital public infrastructure, including universal connectivity and digital identity initiatives for purposes of delivering health care and other public services, and measuring the effectiveness of public policies in real time. He has also proposed the mechanisms for the United Nations to have direct permanent relations with national legislatures to develop laws and policies in line with international goals.
These reforms would build on the already unprecedented concentrations of power in the UN Secretary General through reforms of the UN development system beginning in 2019, that gave the UN Secretary General a direct say in internal national policy decisions, and allows him to use the entire UN system as leverage to pressure governments to adopt UN-style policies.
A second agreement to govern all technology platforms, including artificial intelligence is also being negotiated. It is called the Global Digital Compact. The Global Digital Compact would not be binding, but it will have significant persuasive force. The objective of the agreement is to promote new technologies that are compatible with each other and accessible to all.
On the negative side, the agreement promises global social control through international cooperation to suppress certain types of messages and promote others. All this under the label of combatting misinformation, disinformation, hate speech, and protecting human rights. Tech companies expressly support this kind of content moderation and language in favor of censorship and it is already present in several UN resolutions, including a U.S. sponsored resolution about artificial intelligence adopted this year.
Tech companies, for their part, have an incentive to be governed through less transparent voluntary mechanisms without criminal or civil penalties. The Global Digital Compact will give legitimacy to their professed commitment to social responsibility without any strings attached. In fact, major tech companies like Meta and Microsoft, who are otherwise never present at UN headquarters, participated actively and supported the consultations that produced the initial draft of the Global Digital Compact.
Both agreements are expected to be finalized this Summer and to be adopted at the Summit of the Future, to be held in September during the General Assembly. Pope Francis was invited by UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres to visit the United Nations for a second time and provide the Summit with his blessing.
Thank you for reading our content. If you would like to receive ZENIT’s daily e-mail news, you can subscribe for free through this link.
