“The world has a surplus of multilateral challenges, but a deficit of multilateral solutions," UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned Member States during the opening of the High-level Commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of the United Nations (UN75). He added that “while no one wants a world government, we must work together to improve global governance.”
The official UN75 commemoration, which took place virtually, focused on the theme of “The future we want, the United Nations we need: reaffirming our collective commitment to multilateralism.”
A “Declaration on the Commemoration of the Seventy-fifth Anniversary of the United Nations” was adopted at the meeting. In the Declaration, Member States recognize that global challenges are interconnected and can only be addressed through reinvigorated multilateralism, as demonstrated by the COVID-19 pandemic. They agree that multilateralism is not an option but a necessity to build back better for a more equal, more resilient, and more sustainable world, with the UN at the center of the efforts. They also recognize that the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development (2030 Agenda) is necessary for survival.
The meeting was addressed by Heads of State and Government and Ministers, who spoke in support of multilateralism and global solidarity. Several speakers expressed support for the UN reform currently being undertaken by the UN Secretary-General, while others called for the reform of the UN Security Council.
The UN Secretary-General launched the UN75 initiative in January 2020, as “the world's largest conversation about current global challenges, and the gap between the future we want and where we are headed if current trends continue.” The UN “crowdsourced” views on its future priorities and solutions from the global public, through a survey of over a million people in all 193 UN Member States; more than 1,000 dialogues in 82 countries across the world; and artificial intelligence analysis of social and traditional media in 70 countries, along with academic and policy research mappings in all regions.