The President of the UN General Assembly urged all nations to sustain their momentum toward decisive action and to advance the outcomes of the Summit of the Future as it concluded on Monday.

World leaders on Sunday adopted the Pact for the Future, a landmark declaration pledging concrete actions towards a safer, more peaceful, sustainable and inclusive world for tomorrow’s generations.

World leaders are at UN Headquarters in New York this Sunday where they adopted the potentially game-changing Pact for the Future by consensus, with a small group of just seven countries holding out, having failed to pass a last-minute amendment. The centrepiece of the Summit of the Future is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to reimagine the multilateral system and steer humanity on a new course to meet existing commitments and solve long-term challenges. UN News app users can view the blog here.

Hundreds of youth, celebrities and world leaders converged at UN Headquarters in New York on Saturday for the second of two “action days” on the eve of the landmark Summit of the Future.

Young people took centre stage at UN Headquarters on Friday in the lead-up to the Summit of the Future – an unprecedented opportunity for world leaders to address current and emerging global challenges, and reform outdated international institutions.  

Some of the world’s poorest countries spend more on debt repayments than on health, education and infrastructure combined, severely hampering their chances of developing their economies. At the Summit of the Future, reducing inequality and improving people’s lives by reforming the international financial system will be high on the agenda.

Countries must use a once-in-a-generation UN summit to address current and emerging global challenges and reform outdated international institutions, Secretary-General António Guterres said on Wednesday in New York. 

Ensuring that world leaders consider the impact their actions will have on the billions yet to be born this century, whilst addressing the inclusion of young people in important national and global decision-making, are central to the UN’s landmark Summit of the Future.

A surge in the development of powerful artificial intelligence (AI) tools is already improving lives but is also bringing fresh urgency to calls for regulation, as more and more governments wake up to the risks. Effective global regulation to ensure that AI is developed safely for the benefit of all is urgently needed.

The UN and other bodies set up in the wake of World War Two, are struggling to cope effectively with today’s global threats and challenges. At a landmark event in New York this September, world leaders will consider far-reaching plans to shake up international institutions and bring about major reforms for a safer, fairer future for all.