Existing global arrangements are increasingly unable to deal with the mounting crises facing humanity. So what is required for intergovernmental organizations to address these challenges? This was among the themes explored at an event co-hosted by the Baha’i International Community’s (BIC) Brussels office, together with the Global Governance Forum, an organization promoting research and action for governance reform. 

Titled The Summit of the Future: An Opportunity to Rethink our Global Governance Architecture, this hybrid-event took place in light of the upcoming United Nations Summit of the Future—a gathering of world leaders this coming September aimed at strengthening international cooperation and accelerating implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals. The BIC’s United Nations office in New York, and its Addis Ababa Office, have also played roles in shaping preliminary discussions for the Summit through their participation at the UN’s Civil Society Conference in Nairobi, Kenya in May and as part of the ongoing “Road to the Summit” discussion series. The BIC’s Representative Daniel Perell co-hosts a podcast, UN Necessary, interviewing key international figures ahead of the September meetings.

Augusto Lopez-Claros, Executive Director of the Global Governance Forum, and former chief economist at the World Economic Forum, moderated the panel discussion. In his opening remarks, Mr. Lopez-Claros described the “inability of existing institutions to confront global problems,” and challenged the framework of current global governance arrangements.

There is a need to move away from a global governance system that is “simply a framework for dialogue and negotiation between distinct entities, towards mutual benefit,” said BIC Representative Rachel Bayani. She added that this system should instead be “rooted in the understanding that humanity is essentially one single unit, with the wellbeing of the whole being contingent upon that of the part, and vice versa. Such a system looks markedly different from one where distinct units are coming together to negotiate.” Sandrine Dixson-Decleve, Co-President of Club of Rome, an organization which addresses planetary and societal emergencies, added that there is a need to rethink governance by “hardwiring humanity and dignity into every single decision that we make.”

The event drew together over 100 participants, including panelist María Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, who served as president of the 2018 UN General Assembly. Ms. Espinosa said that “a rebalance of power within institutions and the decision-making spaces that we design” is paramount to reimagining a new system of governance. She shared the importance of a system which moves “beyond responding to crises, to building institutional capacity,” and that achieving these changes requires “reversing historical trends.”

Another notable theme highlighted throughout the discussion was the role of women in creating a new governance system. Slivana Koch-Mehrin, founder of Women Political Leaders, a Brussels-based organization working to increase the number and influence of women in political leadership, said that women help to maintain the “internal peacefulness of a society.”

Yvette Stevens, former Ambassador of Sierra Leone to the United Nations in Geneva, focused on the need for human rights to underscore the work and cooperation of governmental bodies, such as the UN Economic and Social Council and the UN Security Council. In highlighting the original purpose of the UN in preventing conflicts, Ms. Stevens said “human rights have to be given the importance they deserve” in discussions leading up to the Summit. 

Mr. Lopez-Claros concluded by saying that there is a requirement to “bridge the gap between aspirations and noble principles, and bring about changes and reality that actually affects people’s welfare, that delivers prosperity, delivers human well-being; this is the challenge that we face as we move forward.”