Barbara Adams (GPF) participated as a panelist at a roundtable hosted by the Permanent Mission of Republic of Korea to the UN and Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA): “Civil Society and Youth Perspectives on SDGs 16 & 17, the Pact for the Future of the UN Summit of the Future (SOTF) and the Post-2030 Development Agenda – Role and Expectations of the Korean Government”.
Barbara began by quoting UN Secretary-General António Guterres during the Summit of the Future (SOTF): “When the United Nations was established nearly 80 years ago, it had 51 Member States. Today, there are 193. The global economy was less than 112th of its current size. As a result, our peace and security talks and institutions and our global financial architecture reflect a bygone era. The United Nations Security Council is outdated and its authority is eroded. Unless its composition and working methods are reformed, it will eventually lose all credibility. The international financial architecture was established when many of today’s developing countries were under colonial rule. It does not represent the realities of today’s global economy and it is no longer able to resolve global economic challenges such as debt, climate action and sustainable development. It does not provide the global safety net that many developing countries need. Meanwhile, technology, geopolitics, and globalization have transformed power relations.”
Pointing out the need to reform global governance as it is today, she highlighted the ways existing power dynamics dominated by big donors had impact on multilateralism, especially at the UN, which has had to continue its work while Member States violated its Charter and is going through a comprehensive reform effort in the UN80 Initiative. In terms of looking forward, she highlighted that what comes after the 2030 Agenda will be negotiated in a completely different environment, with ever-changing Member State dynamics.
See Barbara’s presentation below.