Delegations have begun to arrive in New York City ahead of meetings attended by world leaders at UN headquarters. One of the main meetings on their agenda is the Summit of the Future, which takes place on 22-23 September and is dedicated to revitalising multilateralism and renewing confidence in the possibility of international cooperation and in the ability of international institutions to respond to global challenges.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who initiated the call for the summit, has spoken of the “deficit of trust”  which is gripping the world today.

I reiterate here what I have said before in this regard, which is that the bulk of today’s security, climate, and humanitarian disasters are the work of the reckless folly who have hitherto dominated the global political stage.

The incompetence of managing economic and development affairs has left nothing but a trail of crushing debt, inflation, unemployment, and poverty for many around the world, which  has no lack of resources. But it has a dearth of leadership able and willing to save it from misery, suffering, and the despair that has overwhelmed many young people everywhere.

Any attempt to revitalise international cooperation must start with the international organisations concerned with peace and security, economy and finance, and development. It must ensure that they reflect changes in the balance of power, better represent the aspirations of peoples and their governments worldwide, are more efficient and effective in financing and marshalling resources, and more skilful at partnering with the private sector and civil-society organisations.

This means rebelling against the culture of contenting ourselves with the bare minimum and reconciling ourselves to obsolescent rules and conditions out of habit. It means summoning up the resolve to usher in mechanisms appropriate to a world that is vastly different from the one shaped by the aftermath of World War II.

Not only did the victors of that war write history, as victors always tend to do, but they also set out the rules for the post-war future. These were laid down in conventions, treaties, and agreements that governed the operations of international institutions and that have kept them operating within the same bounds without significant changes since.

As a result, they have been unable to keep pace with the sea changes the world has undergone since the 1940s. It is 80 years since these international institutions were established. Only two decades remain until 2044, when they become a century old, along with their antiquated operational rules, inbuilt disparities in rights, and unequal representation that is no longer suitable to the current period and its emerging powers.  

I am constantly amazed at how some people fail to grasp how much and how rapidly the world has changed. For them, it is as if the clock stopped at a time when this set of countries was strong and that set of countries was weak, and the former could perpetually look forward to endless horizons of progress and increasing might.

Should that power show any sign of weakening, they rush to dismiss it as a momentary glitch. One cannot help but observe how those who are most attached to the once mighty powers tend to be also those who are most in denial about the unmistakable decline in these powers’ might, even as their own citizens acknowledge that their countries are no longer what they once were.

It is impossible to deny the paralysis that prevents the UN Security Council from dealing effectively with the wars that are ravaging our world, not to mention other existential issues that threaten international peace and security, such as water scarcity, cybersecurity threats, and outer space governance and competition for its resources.

We know that peacekeeping forces, which perform a vital role, are underfunded, and that the 2015 Paris Climate Accord and concomitant pledges and updates at subsequent climate summits have failed to reduce harmful emissions due to insufficient funding, restrictions on technological cooperation, and poor governance and accountability.

We know that less than 15 per cent of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) will be achieved by 2030, while the rest are off target or even worse than where they stood at their starting point in 2015.

We frequently hear that “if the current international institutions did not exist, we would have to create them.” It is hard to deny this logic: the alternative to international cooperation and the multilateral institutions that organise it is endless disputes, conflicts, and destructive warfare.

However, a key word is missing here: efficacy. For international institutions, efficacy depends on credibility, legitimacy, public acceptance, and sound governance. It is also contingent on adequate funding and the resources to support the efforts of their staff, who are among the most competent in their areas of expertise, even if there is a need to engage more people from the Global South as they are more familiar with their regions and the priorities of their societies.

Some may rush to the conclusion that the Summit of the Future will result in nothing new because the topics under discussion are just the same. But forums like this are not about issues that are trending, like a passing fashion. Justice, peace, security, and the right to development are as old as civilisation. What matters is how they are approached, the tools that are brought to bear to achieve them, and the changes in the times and in the balance of power that affect the relevance and effectiveness of such tools and processes.

The solutions and policies proposed at the summit aim to compel world leaders to live up to their responsibilities. The choices almost always boil down to three: peace versus war, security versus anarchy, progress and development versus underdevelopment and poverty.

Amidst the ongoing wars and relentless bloodshed that we see in the world today, and the rising tides of racism and xenophobia fuelled by economic crises and the cynical demagoguery of those scrambling for the seats of power, it may seem impossible to achieve the goals and aspirations advocated by persons of conscience.

However, we should always bear in mind the motto of the outstanding African leader Nelson Mandela: “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” We have seen so many catastrophic “it-will-never-happen”s happen, so perhaps it is now time for the Summit of the Future to help ensure that some positive impossibilities get done.

This article also appears in Arabic in Wednesday’s edition of Asharq Al-Awsat.

* A version of this article appears in print in the 19 September, 2024 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly