The countries that make up the UN General Assembly (GA) adopted an important document at the Summit of the Future on September 22 and 23. Despite objections from a number of nations, the adoption by consensus of the “Pact for the Future” was announced.
Yaroslav Bogdanov, Chairman of the Fund for Protection of Investors' Rights in Foreign States, founder of the Institute of Contemporary International Law and President of GDA Group, stated that comprehensive cooperation on the key issues of the current agenda has not been achieved.
The Global Digital Compact, attached to the Pact for the Future, could have become a promising roadmap for humanity, but the international community has not been able to transcend political differences for the sake of achieving common goals of sustainable development.
“The vote on the Future Pact was held in violation of existing norms of the UN Charter. And this problem - the disregard for fundamental principles - will continue to be transmitted. It puts an end to any initiatives aimed at the development and normalization of international relations. This vicious circle could have been broken by deep reforms in the Organization for the sake of ensuring its prompt, fair and transparent operation. But what happened at the Summit of the Future, when “consensus” is claimed in defiance of all the rules and procedures of such votes, proved that there is no prospect in this regard. The chance to restart the system of international relations was once again lost,” said Yaroslav Bogdanov.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, whose personal initiative was the Global Digital Compact, invited all interested parties to participate in it. This call was heard in many countries. Among others, the Fund for Protection of Investors' Rights in Foreign States, represented by Yaroslav Bogdanov, Chairman of the Fund, applied for participation.
“The Global Digital Compact is strategically important for coordination on the way to building a multipolar world. It is a new norm that guarantees global security for a world on the threshold of a new digital era. “Consensus” that does not take into account the views of all parties is a biased, one-sided solution. The UN has once again proved that it is unable to move forward and satisfy the demand for justice for all participants in international relations,” Yaroslav Bogdanov believes.
According to the expert, the way out of this situation is the creation of the Digital UN - a structure that will combine the principles and norms that will regulate human activity in the information field. The use of innovative technologies - artificial intelligence, blockchain and big data - will help the UN to analyze situations more accurately and develop strategies aimed at sustainable development and peacekeeping, fighting hunger and climate change in different parts of the planet.
“The UN must lead the way in embracing new technologies to advance its goals and create a safer and more equitable world. For this purpose, a new structure, free from the political component, must emerge,” Yaroslav Bogdanov concluded.
