The Summit of the Future 2024 is an essential event for tackling global issues and shaping international collaboration. Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) in Zimbabwe have a pivotal role in influencing the summit’s outcomes and advocating for a civic space where fundamental freedoms are upheld.
CSOs Advocate for a More Equitable Future
CSOs in Zimbabwe are calling for a future that is built on principles of human rights, social justice, and environmental sustainability. Their key messages for the Summit include:
Human Rights and Social Justice: We advocate for the inclusion of marginalized and vulnerable populations in all decision-making processes. Our emphasis is on the need for policies that address social inequities and promote justice. The Pact and Declarations should include strong commitments to protect human rights including freedom of expression, assembly, and protection from discrimination.
Climate Action and Environmental Sustainability: We urge the Summit to prioritise urgent climate action, with concrete commitments to reduce emissions, support renewable energy, and protect biodiversity. Emphasis is placed on Governments and the UN to prioritise environmental sustainability, poverty eradication, and sustainable cities and communities in their development trajectory.
Peace and Security: Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding are paramount. We advocate for measures to prevent conflicts and support peacebuilding efforts, including addressing root causes such as inequality and lack of access to resources. The UN and its member states should promote initiatives aimed at disarmament, particularly the elimination of nuclear weapons, and support for international treaties and agreements on arms control.
Universal Health Access and Pandemic Preparedness: Declarations should be made for investments in public health systems to ensure they are resilient and capable of responding to pandemics and other health crises. We advocate for equitable access to vaccines, treatments, and healthcare services, especially for the poor and marginalized communities.
Economic Justice and Inclusive Growth: The UN and member states should promote fair trade practices and the protection of labour rights, ensuring decent work and economic opportunities for all. We call for policies that address economic inequality, including progressive taxation, social protection measures, and resolution of debt distress especially in many African countries.
Technology and Digital Inclusion: The digital divide must be bridged, ensuring access to digital technologies and the internet for all, particularly in remote areas. Ethical frameworks for emerging technologies like Artificial Intelligence (AI) are necessary to prevent exacerbating inequalities and ensure they benefit all societies.
Strengthening Multilateralism and Global Governance: The Summit should emphasise the need for inclusive multilateralism. There is a need for an inclusive and participatory approach to global governance, where CSOs and other non-state actors have a meaningful voice. This calls for reform of international institutions to make them more democratic, transparent, and responsive to global challenges.
Protection of Civic Space: There is a need for international resolutions that advocate for legal frameworks protecting the rights of civil society actors. This includes ensuring freedoms of association, expression, and peaceful assembly. The future we want should have established civil dialogue mechanisms that facilitate open communication between civil society, governments, partners, and international bodies.
The Summit is a high-level event, bringing world leaders together to forge a new international consensus on how we deliver a better present and safeguard the future.
This once-in-a-generation opportunity serves as a moment to mend eroded trust and demonstrate that international cooperation can effectively tackle current challenges as well as those that have emerged in recent years or may yet be over the horizon.
We already have the “what” in the form of many existing agreements and commitments, starting with the UN Charter and including the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the 2030 Agenda, the Paris Agreement, the Addis Ababa Action Agenda, and many others.
The Summit of the Future will look at the “how” – how do we cooperate better to deliver on the above aspirations and goals? How do we better meet the needs of the present while also preparing for the challenges of the future?
