UN Adopts ‘Pact for the Future’ to Tackle Global Challenges
The United Nations General Assembly has adopted a new agreement called the ‘Pact for the Future’ to address major 21st-century issues like climate change, conflict, and human rights. This pact was agreed upon by most countries at the UN headquarters in New York, although seven countries led by Russia opposed it.
The UN’s official account announced on social media that the pact aims to enhance international cooperation for a better future. The pact covers various themes such as peace, security, sustainable development, climate change, digital cooperation, human rights, gender, youth, and future generations. It also includes two annexes: the Global Digital Compact and the Declaration on Future Generations.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who organized the ‘Summit of the Future,’ called the pact a landmark agreement. He emphasized the need for modern solutions to modern problems and urged for immediate action to reform international cooperation.
The pact includes 56 actions, such as commitments to multilateralism, upholding the UN Charter, and peacekeeping. It also calls for reforms in international financial institutions and the UN Security Council, along with efforts to combat climate change, promote disarmament, and guide the development of artificial intelligence.
Russia criticized the pact, claiming that countries dissatisfied with the agreement were not given a chance for further negotiations. Russia’s objections were supported by Belarus, North Korea, Iran, Nicaragua, and Syria. However, a motion to reject Russia’s amendment was accepted by a majority of 143 votes in the UN General Assembly.
In his remarks, Guterres highlighted ongoing global conflicts and the need for a reformed United Nations Security Council to maintain its credibility.
Doubts Revealed
UN -: The UN stands for the United Nations. It is an organization where countries come together to talk about and solve big problems in the world.
Pact for the Future -: The ‘Pact for the Future’ is an agreement made by many countries to work together to solve important problems like climate change and keeping peace.
General Assembly -: The General Assembly is a big meeting where all the countries in the United Nations come together to discuss and make decisions.
climate change -: Climate change means the Earth’s weather is changing in ways that can be harmful, like getting too hot or having more storms.
conflict -: Conflict means fighting or disagreements between countries or groups of people.
human rights -: Human rights are basic rights and freedoms that every person should have, like the right to be safe and treated fairly.
multilateralism -: Multilateralism means many countries working together to solve problems, instead of just one country trying to do it alone.
peacekeeping -: Peacekeeping is when the UN sends people to help keep peace in places where there is fighting or conflict.
reforms -: Reforms are changes made to improve something, like making rules better or fairer.
international institutions -: International institutions are organizations that work with many countries to solve global problems, like the UN or the World Health Organization.
Russia -: Russia is a large country in Europe and Asia. It sometimes has different opinions from other countries on global issues.
amendment -: An amendment is a change or addition to a document or agreement.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres -: Antonio Guterres is the leader of the United Nations. He helps guide the UN in solving world problems.
