The State of the United Nations on the Eve of the 'Summit of the Future'

The Delegates Lounge

When world leaders descend on New York in September, they’ll gather for a “Summit of the Future,” an eleventh-hour attempt to make the United Nations system more credible in the public eye. Ahead of that high-level debate, join us in The Delegates Lounge as we delve deep into the world body’s response to the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine; the great power rivalries between China, Russia and the United States; the potential impact of the upcoming U.S. election on multilateralism; and the challenges to reforming the Security Council as the UN debates its own future.
J. Alex Tarquinio chats with Richard Gowan, our guest in The Delegates Lounge and a familiar face around the UN hallways here in New York after 20 years of monitoring the global institution. He’s the UN Director at the International Crisis Group, an independent nonprofit, non-governmental organization committed to preventing and resolving deadly conflict. He oversees the global NGO’s advocacy work at the UN, liaising with diplomats and officials in New York.

Speakers:

J. Alex Tarquinio (host). @alextarquinio of @delegateslounge on X, formerly known as Twitter.

Richard Gowan (guest). @RichardGowan1 of @crisisgroup on X, formerly known as Twitter.

References:

A recent article by Richard Gowan on the “Pact for the Future” to be discussed at the “Summit of the Future,” which he mentioned in the interview. The draft version that he reviews here was released on July 17, after the interview in this episode.

https://www.justsecurity.org/98128/united-nations-pact-for-future/

The article by Richard Gowan about the recent U.K. election mentioned in our conversation.

https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/uk-foreign-policy-united-nations/

The host mentioned Martin Griffiths, who was the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator until the end of June 2024. In his final press briefing on June 4, well before the recent pause in UN aid deliveries to Gaza, Griffiths spoke about the challenges of providing security for aid deliveries to Gaza. He specifically addressed the issue of the stolen trucks at several points in his final press briefing, including at the 14-minute, the 26:30-minute, and the 44-minute marks in the following video.

https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k16/k16fjab6eu

The host mentioned that the UN “was not very present” at the Summit on Peace in Ukraine in Bürgenstock, Switzerland in June 2024. The UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo attended the summit as an observer.

https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/fdfa/fdfa/aktuell/dossiers/konferenz-zum-frieden-ukraine.html

The host and guest discussed the U.S. financial contributions to the UN system. These are explained in the following “backgrounder” article by the Council on Foreign Relations, “Funding the United Nations: How Much Does the U.S. Pay?”

https://www.cfr.org/article/funding-united-nations-what-impact-do-us-contributions-have-un-agencies-and-programs

فصول

1. The State of the United Nations on the Eve of the 'Summit of the Future' (00:00:00)

2. The Future of the United Nations (00:00:08)

3. UN's Evolving Role in Global Affairs (00:14:20)

4. Global Challenges and UN Diplomacy (00:23:12)

5. UN's Role in Modern Conflict (00:30:25)