Prologue to the biggest event on the 2023 diplomatic calendar

The UN General Assembly (UNGA) has already elected, by acclamation, Dennis Francis, Permanent Representative of Trinidad and Tobago to the UN, to serve as President of its 78th UNGA session scheduled to start on September 5 2023.

With 193 UN member states attending the session, this is the biggest event of the year in the field of multilateral diplomacy.

The theme of the General Assembly, including the general debate (16-20 September), is " Rebuilding trust and reigniting global solidarity: Accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its sustainable development goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all".

On substance, there are 174 items of the UNGA agenda including all major issues relating to political, economic, social, human rights, cultural, legal and institutional bilateral and multilateral cooperation in the present world characterized by global vulnerabilities , perplexities and discontinuities.

During the session, world leaders, including young leaders, will discuss, negotiate and debate how to confront the global polycrisis, and find strategic solutions to accelerate action on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development Goals. (SDG).

The SDG Summit will be a central UNGA 78 event.It will bring together leaders and communities in order to reaffirm commitment to the SDGs during a Global Goals Week which is conceived as a shared commitment between 150+ partners across civil society, business, academia, and the UN system to accelerate action on the 2030 Agenda.

In the same organizational context, the Climate Ambition Summit , scheduled for September 20, will be a useful opportunity for leaders to demonstrate their collective commitment to respond to the mounting climate emergency.

As the main theme of the UNGA's 78^th session refers specifically to "reigniting global solidarity", it appears appropriate to recall the UN Secretary General's report Our Common Agenda in which solidarity is mentioned 42 times. The first time, solidarity is quoted in the following realistic paragraph by its content :"Increasingly, people are turning their backs on the values of trust and solidarity in one another – the very values we need to rebuild our world and secure a better, more sustainable future for our people and our planet. Humanity's welfare – and indeed, humanity's very future – depend on solidarity and working together as a global family to achieve common goals."

In the last mention of solidarity (number 42 in the above quoted report), the readers are informed that "This report has provided a vision of solidarity and international cooperation that puts us on a path towards a breakthrough for a greener, safer and better future, and walks us back from the cusp of breakdown."

Earlier, in a valuable specific assertion the same report warns that "A renewed social contract at the national level and stronger intergenerational solidarity must find expression in a new deal at the global level".

By a happy coincidence, in fact on the eve of the 78^th UNGA session in the XV BRICS Summit Johannesburg II Declaration dated 23 August 2023 we find the following significant paragraph dealing with the same issue: "We recognise that youth is a driving force for accelerating the achievement of sustainable development goals. Leadership by young people is fundamental to accelerating a just transition premised on the principles of intergenerational solidarity (emphasis added), international cooperation, friendship, and societal transformation. A culture of entrepreneurship and innovation must be nurtured for the sustainable development of our youth. We reiterate the importance of the BRICS Youth Summit as a forum for meaningful engagement on youth matters and recognise its value as a coordinating structure for youth engagement in BRICS. We welcome the finalisation of the BRICS Youth Council Framework".

For the information of readers we recall that in 2023 BRICS (Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa) has a total population of over 3.3 billion people. It should be added that BRICS invited the Argentine Republic, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, the Islamic Republic of Iran, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates to become full members of BRICS from 1 January 2024.

It is also cogent to underline the fact that in the same Johannesburg Declaration BRICS members reiterated the "commitment to inclusive multilateralism and upholding international law, including the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations (UN) as its indispensable cornerstone, and the central role of the UN in an international system in which sovereign states cooperate to maintain peace and security, advance sustainable development, ensure the promotion and protection of democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all, and promoting cooperation based on the spirit of solidarity (emphasis added), mutual respect, justice and equality".

It is necessary to stress that this commitment is the result of intensive negotiations between BRICS members representing an inspiring consensus position for other groups of states.

Even in the light of a simple literal interpretation of the abobe commitment, we can conclude that BRICS in their current and future composition are decided to promote the strengthening of the United Nations and will act in accordance with the Charter of the world organization. That will contribute to combating the opinion that the UN is a failing institution.

The 193 UN members have the difficult and complex task to demonstrate during the 78^th UNGA session that they are able to give tangibility to the spirit of solidarity in their deliberations and negotiations and adopt decisions and recommendations to be reflected in relevant resolutions , in harmony with the aspirations of doing their best for accelerating action on the 2030 Agenda and its sustainable development goals towards peace, prosperity, progress and sustainability for all.

History will be the final judge of the real capacity of the world organization of fulfilling its noble mission.