Mr Guterres spoke during the negotiations for the Top of the futurewhich starts on Sunday at the UN headquarters, is entering its final stretch.
“I have one overarching message today: a call on Member States to adopt a spirit of compromise.. Show the world what we can do, when we work together,” he said said.
‘An essential first step’
The two-day Summit of the Future is “an essential first step in making global institutions more legitimate, effective and fit for the world of today and tomorrow,” Mr Guterres told reporters.
He said the work already done in the run-up reveals:possible breakthroughs on a number of important fronts“.
This includes ‘the strongest language on Security Council reform in a generation – and the most concrete step towards Council enlargement since 1963”, the first-ever governance measures for artificial intelligence (AI) and other technologies, and progress on reforming the international financial architecture.
Other items include the financing of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the commitment to promote an SDG stimulus to increase financial support to developing countries.
“It would be tragic if all of this were lost“, he warned.
Challenges, crises and conflicts
Mr Guterres said the summit was “so crucial” because “international challenges are changing faster than our ability to solve them.”
He pointed to “excessive geopolitical divisions and unmanageable conflicts – not least in Ukraine, Gaza, Sudan and beyond,” along with “unmanageable” climate change, inequality and debt, and the development of AI and other technologies that have no guidelines or boundaries.
“Crises influence and reinforce each other – for example, as digital technologies spread climate disinformation, increasing mistrust and fueling polarization,” he said.
Reform of multilateral institutions
Meanwhile, multilateral institutions, “born in a bygone era for a bygone world,” simply cannot keep up.
Mr Guterres said that many of the challenges facing the world today were not on the radar 80 years ago, when these institutions were established.
“Our founders understood that times would change,” he said. “They understood that the values that underpin our global institutions are timeless – but the settings themselves cannot be frozen in time.”
A constantly changing world
He said the peacemakers at the time could not have predicted the changes that have taken place over the past eight decades.
Examples include independence movements, the economic and geopolitical rise of many developing countries, catastrophic climate impacts, space exploration, and the development of the internet, smartphones and social media, all of which are being boosted by AI.
“Like our founders, we cannot know exactly what the future holds,” he acknowledged.
“But we don’t need a crystal ball to see that 21st “The challenges of this century require problem-solving mechanisms that are more effective, more networked and more inclusive; that serious power imbalances in global institutions must be adjusted and updated; and that our institutions must draw on the expertise and representation of all humanity.”
While change won’t happen overnight, it can start today.“, he insisted.
Finish the job
Member States attending the summit are expected to Pact for the futureimmediately Worldwide Digital Compact And Declaration on Future Generations attached to it.
Mr Guterres expressed the hope that they will “do everything possible” to get these documents “over the finish line”.
“We cannot create a future that suits our grandchildren with systems that were built for our grandparents,” he said, stressing that the summit “cannot fail”.
World leaders
More than 130 heads of state and government will attend the Summit of the Future, which will take place from 22 to 23 September, just before the annual debate in the UN General Assembly.
The summit will be preceded by two ‘days of action’ during which non-governmental organisations (NGOs), academics and private sector representatives will address key issues.