Micheál Martin (Cork South Central, Fianna Fail)
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Following the UN Secretary General’s Our Common Agenda (OCA) proposals in 2021, the UN General Assembly (UNGA) passed a resolution to hold the Summit of the Future in September 2024. Practical consultations on preparations for the Summit began in February 2023 and a Ministerial meeting took place in September during UNGA High Level Week.

A Pact for the Future will be endorsed by Heads of State/Government as the outcome document of the Summit, pointing the way for the innovations and reforms required over the coming years. The Pact for the Future will be organised into five chapters: sustainable development and financing for development; international peace and security; science, technology and innovation and digital cooperation; youth and future generations; and Transforming global governance.

Ireland has strongly supported the UN Secretary General’s work in this area, including through reflecting OCA elements in the recently adopted SDG Summit Political Declaration, which Ireland co-facilitated. During the consultations and negotiations on the Pact for the Future, Ireland will work to ensure that the SDG Political Declaration is well reflected and built upon.

Ensuring the success of the Summit of the Future will require Member States to be brave in their ambition, with a genuine sense of ownership and commitment to achieving its goals. Ireland will therefore engage with stakeholders in EU and international fora to encourage meaningful consideration of a plurality of views and priorities from across the world, and work to ensure these are reflected in the finished product.

Beyond the important specific themes addressed clearly in each of the chapters, Ireland will be focused on ensuring key cross-cutting issues, such as gender and human rights, are reflected meaningfully throughout the Pact for the Future.