Summit of the Future No 25: Preparatory process for the Summit of the Future – letter from co-facilitators to UN New York ambassadors

Ambassadors Antje Leendertse and Nevill Gertze, co-facilitators for the Summit of the Future, wrote to the other Ambassadors in New York on 4 April 2024, about the preparatory process for the Summit of the Future. The letter informed them that the second reading of the Pact for the Future concluded on 3 April, with it having “deepened understanding between delegations and fostered convergence on many issues.”

In working on the revised text (Rev 1) of the Pact for the Future, they are holding a Closed Informal Consultation at Ambassadorial Level on 16 April, 3-6 pm. Through the consultation they hope to “review and assess the discussions held during the second reading”, as well as fostering “a collective understanding of the way forward.”

Key principles

According to the co-facilitators, the key principles for the revision of the Pact and upcoming negotiations are:

• Upholding previous agreed commitments in resolution (76/307), for a “concise action-oriented outcome document,” similar in length to the zero draft of the Pact (20 pages)
• A “strategic Pact appropriate for Heads of State and Government,” ie a “strategic, high-level political outcome document”
• “High ambition with actionable deliverables” with the revised document exhibiting “a high level of ambition and [featuring] actionable deliverables” for reinvigorated multilateralism and boosting the implementation of existing commitments
• “Clarity and trust-building language” using clear and compelling language to foster trust in the UN in the chapters and especially in the chapeau that will be negotiated, when there is greater clarity on the content of the chapters

Methodology for the revision of the Pact:

• “Streamlined text to avoid duplication and reaffirmations, elimination of redundancies and duplication across and within chapters, and minimizing reaffirmations and reiterations of existing positions to keep the Pact operational, concise and transformative. Previously agreed language will also be minimized, while taking a judicious approach to the level of “technical detail”
• During the third reading, text will be edited “free of attribution” to instill “a spirit of compromise” and ensure that the negotiations “focus on substance”

 In future consultations, Member States are requested to commit to:

• Discipline and focus on key priorities, ie to exercising “discipline, fostering trust and maintaining focus on key priorities and high-level commitments”, at the same time avoiding “unnecessary digressions into details”
• Compromise, which will be required from all sides to achieve consensus

To chart a path forward to a meaningful and ambitious Pact for the Future, the following dates for the third reading are tentatively suggested:

• May 13-15, (subject to release date of Rev 1); 28-30
• June 3- 5; 10-12; 18-20; 24, 25 & 27
• July 1-3