Multilateralism at a crossroads: The UN faces unprecedented threats
Multilateralism, and more specifically the role of the UN, is under threat. The crisis is not limited to the political and security dimensions. Far beyond the paralysis of the Security Council, it also affects all other areas of international values, norms, goals and cooperation, from health to human rights, from trade to the environment, from Internet governance to social policies.
New York's diplomacy is deeply affected and is very often in the headlines, very focused on the paralysis of the Security Council and the political debates of the General Assembly. "International Geneva" is also affected, but it is less visible in the news, often forgotten or underestimated. Inevitably, a process of adjustment and adaptation of multilateralism to the new political, military, economic, social and environmental forces will begin, which is already beginning, insofar as we are already in a kind of new Cold War. The risk of resorting to improvised solutions, fragmented reactions and short-sighted decisions is high: future agreements and new mechanisms must be based on analysis and in-depth discussions and cannot ignore the role of civil society, which is paramount for legitimacy and sustainability.
The international Geneva ecosystem: what is it and why does it matter?
The agenda of multilateral issues that International Geneva addresses is very broad, complex and essential to any "UN 2.0" that humanity can imagine if it survives. It should not be seen as a "collateral" piece attached to the political agenda, but should be seen as a central element of the multilateral system. The International Geneva ecosystem encompasses 40 international organizations (including five United Nations specialized agencies and several UN entities), 180 Permanent Missions and 400 NGOs. Almost all of the "non-military threats" and the "roots of today's multifaceted crises" are addressed in Geneva. This ecosystem is highly "technical", complicated and diverse, and encompasses more than the 17 SDGs. It is important, in particular, for three main characteristics: (i) its normative and regulatory work in numerous economic, social, environmental and human rights fields; (ii) its impact at the national level in transforming research and standards into concrete technical assistance on a global scale; (iii) it is a puzzle: it is the main multilateral crossroads of cross-sectoral and multidisciplinary issues that characterize globalization and today's increasingly complex crises. (See the Reference Note on the Role of International Geneva, which sets out the background to this Dialogue.)
Main characteristics of this Intergenerational Dialogue:
The overall objective is to highlight the specificities of the multilateral work carried out by Geneva International in the context of the preparations for the UN Summit on the Future and beyond. This Dialogue is genuinely intergenerational, involving young and less young experts and non-experts on multilateral affairs, and offers a civil society perspective through non-governmental entities based in Geneva, New York and other world capitals.
The main target audience is diplomats, decision-makers, academics, journalists, students, civil society and the general public, especially in New York and Geneva. The Dialogue is not an academic exercise: it aims to complement other Summit-related initiatives, rather than compete with them.
The discussion that will take place at the Dialogue will be inspired by an anonymous online survey among the target audience that encompasses the networks of all Greycells partners. This survey will be launched in early February 2024.
Expected results:
- The main result will be a communiqué summarizing the issues discussed in the dialogue and the results of the online survey. This Communiqué aims to send concrete proposals to the UN Civil Society Conference in Nairobi on 9-10 May 2024, to negotiators in New York and to other global or regional civil society consultations on the Summit (such as the People's Pact for the Future being prepared by the UN Coalition We Need, of which Greycells is a member).
- Launch of a cohesive and connected global network of people, schools, universities and communities committed to multilateralism and to the practice of intergenerational dialogue as a way to solve local and global problems.