‘Pact of the Future’ offers ray of hope for Pakistan’s youth

To address governance gaps, initiate institutional transformation, curb entrenched regressive biases, ensure peace and security and foster digital cooperation world leaders recently adopted ‘Pact of the Future’ at the UN General Assembly. Pakistan, like other member states, is said to have contributed to this document and hopes to benefit significantly from its implementation.

Salman Bashir, former foreign secretary, emphasized Pakistan’s active role in the lengthy consultative process that led to the landmark UN agreement, stating: “Ambassador Munir Akram, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the UN, played a pivotal role in shaping this forward-looking document adopted by the world body. Its core objectives align with Pakistan’s priorities, offering renewed hope for the future, especially at a time when the global outlook seems bleak and systems appears outdated”.

He urged Pakistani youth to take note of the global pact, which addresses the needs and aspirations of their generation, and to work towards building a better world.

Musadaq Zulqarnain, a progressive business leader, found the new pact highly relevant for Pakistan, calling it a collective step in the right direction. He highlighted two key commitments that resonate with the country’s needs: “Given Pakistan’s sovereign debt challenges, the Pact’s pledges to grant developing countries a stronger voice in international financial institutions and review sovereign debt structures is crucial. Additionally, with 64 per cent of the population under 30, the Pact’s commitment to creating meaningful opportunities for young people to participate in decision-making processes, especially at the global level, is reassuring.

Commenting on the necessity of such an agreement, he noted, “With only 17 per cent of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) currently on track, the ‘Pact for the Future’ marks a critical step towards a more equitable and sustainable global future. However, its success hinges largely on the actions of individual nations, particularly developed countries, in fulfilling its commitments.

The International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) has endorsed the multilateral agreement, recognizing global cooperation as crucial to addressing the critical challenges facing the world. In a press statement John W H Denton AO, Secretary General of ICC stated, “We believe the Pact must serve as an immediate platform for action to develop mechanisms capable of ensuring a rapid, cohesive and effective global response to emerging crises. This should provide an opportunity to forge new models of engagement with business – breaking through artificial silos that today often limit the real-world impact of crisis response efforts. We look forward to working with the UN Secretary General to this end.”

Leading business platforms such as Pakistan Business Council, Overseas Investors Chamber of Commerce and Industry and several prominent business figures declined to comment on this agreement, possibly because they had not yet formed an opinion. Response from foreign and planning ministries were also sought but remained pending at the time of filing this report.

The UN Pact, circulated on September 22, addresses a wide array of global issues, including peace and security, sustainable development, climate change, digital cooperation, human rights, gender, youth empowerment and the transformation of global governance.

It marks the first multilateral commitment to complete elimination of nuclear weapons, while also reinforcing international frameworks governing outer space. It includes a clear pledge to prevent an arms race in outer space and ensures that all nations benefit from its safe and sustainable exploration. The agreement further emphasises the need to prevent the weaponization and misuse of emerging technologies, such as lethal autonomous weapons, and affirms that the laws of war should apply to these new technologies.

On financing for climate change and development, the Pact aims to accelerate the implementation of the SDGs, pushing for reforms in the international financial architecture to better serve developing countries. It envisions collaboration between key global players like the IMF, UN, G20. The agreement also reaffirms the commitment to limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels and transitioning energy systems away from fossil fuels to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

The pact’s annexture, ‘Global Digital Compact’ establishes a comprehensive global framework for digital cooperation and artificial intelligence (AI) governance, aimed at designing, utilizing and regulating technology for the benefit of all. This initiative seeks to connect all individuals, schools and hospitals to the internet, ensuring that online spaces are accessible to everyone through collaborative actions governments, tech companies and social media platforms. It also aims to initiate global policy dialogue on AI and enhance data accessibility, advocating for agreements on open-source data, models and standards.

For the first time, the pact includes provisions to invite youth representatives to decision-making forums, especially at the global level. Additionally, it outlines mechanisms for follow-up actions to ensure that the commitments made are effectively implemented.