On 15 February, QUNO NY’s UN representative, Kavita Desai, delivered an intervention at the Summit of the Future Multistakeholder Consultation hosted virtually by the Ambassadors of Germany and Namibia who are leading this process. Proposed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres in his report ‘Our Common Agenda’, the ‘Summit of the Future: Multilateral Solutions for a Better Tomorrow’ will be essential to revitalizing the UN charter, boosting implementation of existing commitments, restoring trust among Member States and reinvigorating multilateralism.

During this virtual consultation, stakeholders were encouraged to share their views on the proposed calendar and outline for the months ahead that will lead towards a preparatory ministerial meeting in September 2023 ahead of the summit in 2024. Kavita delivered a statement on behalf of Friends, drawing on insights and learning from the recent Civil Society-UN Prevention Platform submission to the New Agenda for Peace.

During her intervention, Kavita called for peace to be a focus, highlighting the need for concrete and actionable steps to build peace to come out of the Summit. QUNO remains engaged on this issue and looks forward to working with partners as the UN moves towards the Summit of the Future in 2024.