Global Policy Dialogue on Global Governance Innovation: Beyond UN75 & Our Common Agenda

OVERVIEW

Bringing together a select, yet diverse group from UN Missions and the Secretariat, think tanks, universities, the private sector, and other civil society organizations, this Track 1.5 dialogue aims, first and foremost, to offer concrete recommendations for taking forward the UN75 Declaration, the Secretary-General’s Our Common Agenda (OCA)—including its call for a 2023 Summit of the Future—and the UN General Assembly OCA follow-through resolution, adopted by consensus on 15 November 2021 and including 166 co-sponsors.

OBJECTIVES

This Track 1.5 dialogue seeks to:

• Offer concrete recommendations for taking forward the UN75 Declaration and the Secretary-General’s Our Common Agenda, including its call for a 2023 Summit of the Future.
• Debate and recommend specific global institutional, policy, legal, normative, and operational innovations that could inform the agenda of the 2023 Summit.
• Consider and enhance the Climate Governance Commission interim report proposals.
• Prepare a global governance renewal action program for the Global Governance Innovation Network, Coalition for the UN We Need, Together First campaign, and Climate Governance Commission.
• Initiate a Track 1.5 dialogue series (each on specific themes) in support of the 2023 Summit.

BACKGROUND

UN Secretary-General António Guterres was tasked with utilizing the UN75 Declaration’s 12 commitments as an impetus “to respond to current and future challenges.” His follow-on Our Common Agenda report, released in September 2021, presented world leaders with some 90 recommendations to strengthen and renew the UN. Together, these far-reaching ideas—and the analysis underpinning them—create the basis for what may be viewed as the Secretary-General’s most consequential proposal: a Summit of the Future, timed to coincide with the General Assembly’s high-level week in September 2023.

Preceded by preparatory events and consultations, the summit would work to “advance ideas for governance arrangements in the areas of international concern mentioned in this report, and potentially others.” On 15 November 2021, with 166 co-sponsors, the UN General Assembly adopted by consensus a resolution on Follow-up to the report of the Secretary-General entitled “Our Common Agenda.” Among its recommendations was to call upon the“President of the General Assembly to initiate, under his overall guidance, a process of follow-up to enable all Member States to begin inclusive intergovernmental consideration of the various proposals, options and potential means of implementation and on ways to take them forward, in collaboration with all relevant partners through broad and inclusive consultations.” 

To advance this action program with the goal of strengthening and innovating the United Nations and related global institutions, the Global Policy Dialogue (GPD) on Global Governance Innovation: Beyond UN75 & Our Common Agenda will bring together, from 1-2 March 2022 in Washington, D.C., around 75 diverse stakeholders from around the world. 

Day 1 (1 March), held at the Stimson Center, will begin with a series of discussions dedicated to analyzing and responding to the Secretary-General’s Our Common Agenda recommendations for taking forward the UN75 Declaration’s twelve commitments, organized around the GPD’s headings of 

1. COVID-19, Human Rights, and a New Social Contract; 
2. Climate Action and Governing the Environment and Global Commons;
3. Conflict Prevention and Management;
4. Collaborative Economy and Promoting Global Public Goods. 

By the late afternoon, participants will be shuttled to a reception and special dinner program along with additional senior representatives from the international and foreign affairs policy communities based in Washington, D.C. The dinner program will engage several of the dialogue’s eminent and young leaders in a moderated conversation with all participants.

Day 2 (2 March) of the Global Policy Dialogue, held at Georgetown University, will begin with a morning session that explores recommendations from the Climate Governance Commission for innovating climate action post- COP-26. The late morning and afternoon program will encourage elaboration of (1) a select number of Our Common Agenda and related reform proposals—whether of an institutional, legal, policy or operational nature—as well as of (2) the preparatory process toward the proposed 2023 Summit of the Future.

It will further consider how a Track 1.5 dialogue series (held in different regions with diverse policy-makers and experts) and related research products could support preparations toward the recommended September 2023 Summit of the Future.

The formal two-day Global Policy Dialogue will conclude with a late afternoon forum, held in conjunction with students from Georgetown’s School of Foreign Service.

A follow-on (Day 3) half-day strategy session will be convened, for leaders from the Global Governance Innovation Network, Climate Governance Commission, Coalition for the UN We Need, and Together First campaign, on the morning of Thursday, 3 March 2022, at the Stimson Center. The goal will be for these civil society-led efforts to come together to chart a “Road to 2023” complementary action program on issues of global governance renewal and strengthening, including by mobilizing pressure and feeding bold, carefully researched proposals into the preparations of the proposed 2023 Summit of the Future.

A four-week e-consultation was held immediately preceding the Global Policy Dialogue and strategy session with the twin, inter-related goals of 1) further discussing and refining the ideas and action plans generated during the Global Policy Dialogue; and 2) expanding the global, multi-stakeholder network in support of a dedicated intergovernmental process to strengthen and reform the legal and institutional machinery of the UN system and related global institutions. The first segment, titled ‘Thematic priorities of the Our Common Agenda report and beyond, leading up to the Summit of the Future in 2023’ took place between 17-30 January. Segment Two titled ‘Coordination strategies and levers for engagement leading up to the Summit of the Future in September 2023’ took place between 31 January to 13 February. You can find the participant list here.