05/08/2024
Ahead of the forthcoming 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in September 2024, the Council of the European Union approved in June the conclusions that will define the priorities for the European Union at the United Nations over the coming year.
With these conclusions, the European Union reaffirms its willingness ‘to defend and reform multilateralism so that it works for all, is fit for the future and better reflects today’s world’, but does this really reflect a concrete commitment to future generations?
Integration of future generations in the EU’s priorities at the UN
Although only one point is specifically devoted to the involvement of future generations in the political decision-making process, they are intertwined in several of them:
- Promoting and defending international law
In this paragraph, the EU declares that it will continue to defend a multilateral system based on the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and will be ready to oppose any action aimed at weakening it. Furthermore, in the second part, it pledges to ‘reform global governance and will play a leading role in implementing and enforcing the rule of law, international norms and agreements that provide global public goods and protect future generations’. (Point 7)
- Supporting the UN Secretary-General’s New Agenda for Peace and engaging in the Pact for the Future
The Council states that the EU supports ‘the renewed emphasis on conflict prevention and peacekeeping as a universal obligation’ and continues by mentioning the need to address the links ‘between climate, peace and security’ and be sure to “fully implement the Agendas on Women, Peace and Security, Youth, […] ensuring their inclusion in the Pact for the Future.” (Point 18)
- Enhancing young people’s participation
This point focuses in particular on improving the participation of young people in the policy-making process, stating that ‘the full, effective, and meaningful participation of young persons requires specific action, so that they may engage as equal partners in the policy and decision-making processes throughout the UN system.’.
It also reiterates its commitment to the equal participation of women and young people in all spheres of public and political life ‘as per the EU Action Plan on Human Rights and Democracy 2020-2024)’, and ‘encourages the inclusion of youth delegates in national and EU representations’.
Lastly, the EU welcomes the Declaration on Future Generations and considers that this is ‘another important outcome of the Summit on the Future’ which will make it possible to ‘release the full potential of future generations’. (Point 47)
Through its conclusions, the EU is showing that it recognises the importance of a long-term and sustainable vision and that it is ready to work on the issue of future generations by including them in public and political decision-making. These conclusions also echo the recent political guidelines issued by the President of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, in which she stated that ‘we must ensure that decisions taken today do not harm future generations’. These statements are encouraging ahead of the forthcoming Summit of the Future, on 22 -23 September 2024, and the signing of the Pact for the Future, all that remains is to see how these intentions translate into long-term policy.