Summit of the Future: Managing global interdependence

© Rick Bajornas / UN

The Summit of the Future, entitled Multilateral Solutions for a Better Tomorrow, takes place at a time when the world faces remarkable opportunities as well as existential global risks and challenges. These require both a unified and resolute international community and an efficient multilateral system.

The Summit presents a unique opportunity for world leaders to forge pathways toward a peaceful, prosperous, safe, and sustainable future for both current and future generations. A new collective vision for effective multilateral cooperation, rooted in international law, is expected to emerge, delivering actions that address the critical priorities of our times — chief among them, the advancement of the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.

In our interdependent world, no country can solve global issues alone, making multilateral cooperation critical to advancing national interests. Yet, international cooperation is being challenged at a time when it is most needed. The pursuit of social justice should guide a truly inclusive multilateralism that deepens partnerships, embraces diversity, and transcends perspectives. Solidarity must be placed at the centre of international cooperation.

Global governance is crucial to the world of work

As the Summit of the Future reflects on transforming global governance to respond to a changing world, it is important for all partners to consider ways in which the benefits and burdens of an interdependent world can be more fairly shared across countries and populations. The world of work, including workers and enterprises, is directly affected by global trends in trade, finance, technology, demography, and the environment, each of which falls within the remit of distinct international organizations' mandates. While these global trends often lie beyond the reach of national social governance systems, people experience and cope with their impact in their daily lives.

The world needs a more human-centred global governance system that is better able to manage the challenges and opportunities created by global trends, build shared prosperity, and avoid adverse impacts on the poorest and most vulnerable. Global governance must be equipped to anticipate the differentiated effects of global trends on the world of work, mitigate their negative impacts, and assist countries in harnessing the opportunities they offer. In parallel, the international financial system should be able to mobilize the necessary resources to meet key challenges, especially the achievement of the SDGs. This calls for closer cooperation between multilateral institutions. The UN Secretary-General's proposal to hold biannual summits at the level of Heads of State, bringing together the UN and international financial institutions, is critical in this regard.

An improved global governance system must also rely on gender-responsive, efficient, and accountable national institutions that can adapt to accelerating changes while protecting human and labour rights. As the multilateral system has the power to galvanize resources from all partners, a priority should be to strengthen national institutions and their ability to increase national fiscal space, with the resulting gains invested in employment and social protection to achieve decent work. Indeed, much more investment in these areas is needed to reduce poverty at faster rates while battling rising exclusion and inequalities in many countries. An alarming 4.1 billion people have no access to social protection, and over 2 billion struggle to make a living in the informal economy. A massive scale-up of development and climate finance is needed to achieve the SDGs and meet environmental targets. Domestic resources can be further mobilized, including through reforming tax systems and revising the current sovereign debt architecture, which too often constrains low-income countries. This is even more urgent as today half of the world’s population lives in countries where the government spends more on debt services than on health or education.

Advancing social justice for everyone, everywhere

The Summit of the Future will take place a year ahead of the Second World Summit for Social Development, laying the groundwork for a reinforced social dimension in multilateral cooperation. Putting the promotion of social justice through decent work at the heart of a modernized multilateral system is critical to tackling key challenges, such as the unprecedented rise in inequalities.

Young people, in particular, face a social justice deficit. In 2023, one in five young people globally, or 20.4 per cent, were neither in employment, education, nor training. Generating decent work opportunities and investing in their education and skills are global challenges requiring a more coordinated multilateral system to better support national policies and programs. The creation of a Global Youth Investment Platform, proposed by the UNSG to attract direct funds for youth-related programs, would help young people realize their potential in the labour market.

The recently created Global Coalition for Social Justice is a pivotal contribution to new forms of multilateral cooperation aimed at making a positive impact on people’s lives. As of today, this innovative platform brings together about 300 partners among governments, international organizations, development banks, trade unions, and employers' organizations, all committed to championing social justice. As the Coalition continues to grow and deepen, it serves as a living illustration of the enduring relevance of the vision for social justice set out in the ILO Declaration of Philadelphia eighty years ago.

Prioritizing just transitions to green the economy

Addressing the climate emergency and delivering on related international agreements require a fair distribution, both across and within countries, of the burdens and opportunities brought about by climate adaptation and mitigation policies.

Just transitions offer a practical framework, agreed upon through tripartite social dialogue, that enables countries to pursue their environmental objectives without undermining their economic and social agendas. Gender-responsive and inclusive just transitions aim to stimulate the creation of decent green jobs and the development of green businesses. They support inclusive and adaptive skills development programs to increase the return on green infrastructure investments. They also include measures to support workers and enterprises negatively affected by mitigation policies.

The Global Accelerator on Jobs and Social Protection for Just Transitions is a concrete example of a cooperative mechanism that integrates the expertise and support of UN organizations, the World Bank, public development banks, social partners, and civil society, with a view to accelerating progress on the three dimensions of sustainable development.

Taking advantage of the opportunities and mitigating the risks presented by technological innovation

The multilateral system has a key role in harnessing the potential of new technologies to solve global challenges such as climate change or the growth of inequalities.

Regarding the world of work, the global community must work together to maximize the benefits and mitigate the negative impacts of the current digital revolution. Workers' and employers' organizations, which bring the perspective of the real economy, are critical partners in shaping sound global governance systems for AI and other digital technologies. The Global Digital Compact, to be adopted by the Summit, is a unique opportunity to promote science and technology as key drivers of social justice and decent work creation. To this end, the Compact should include explicit principles that recognize the need to apply new digital systems and tools in full conformity with international human rights, including labour rights.

No lasting peace without social justice

As the number, intensity, and domains* of conflicts and wars increase, the Summit will consider the New Agenda for Peace proposed by the UN Secretary-General. To inform this debate, the core message of the century-old ILO Constitution has never been more relevant: there can be no universal and lasting peace without social justice. Social unrest, riots, and conflicts can be prevented, and their impact mitigated through the delivery of inclusive, rights-based social contracts that leave no one behind.

The New Agenda for Peace should encourage member states to embrace the world of work in the search for durable solutions to societal tensions, while preventing these from escalating further. Social dialogue between workers' and employers' organizations has proved to be a fundamental governance mechanism for reaching consensus and resolving grievances in the world of work, and sometimes beyond.

Social dialogue as an enabler of more effective and networked multilateralism

While governments drive the multilateral system, the role of non-state actors has been increasingly recognized and valued. Workers' and employers' organizations bring the perspective and experience of actors in the real economy, including on emerging issues such as climate change and AI. They should have opportunities to inform global decisions. Additionally, at the national level, tripartite social dialogue makes important contributions to the implementation of multilateral agreements, including the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda.

Social dialogue creates a sense of common purpose and helps build trust among partners; therefore, it should play a larger role in UN decisions and country programs.

* Domains of war include territories, technologies, and cyberspace.