Participants in India for a global dialogue and survey initiated by the United Nations have listed security threats, terrorism and conflict, climate change and environment and equal access to basic services as the main global trends and challenges impacting nations.
The world body launched the UN75 initiative in January 2020, in which participants from 186 countries were invited to discuss their priorities for the future, obstacles to achieving them, and the role of global cooperation in overcoming these challenges.
The initiative was launched as the United Nations is marking its 75th anniversary at a time of great upheaval, with the COVID-19 pandemic continuing to spread, exacting a heavy toll on lives, societies and economies in all regions of the world.
As of March 2020, over 13 million people in nearly all UN Member States had taken part in the initiative, with more than 40,000 completing the one-minute survey, and more than 330 dialogues held in 87 countries.
The public's priorities for the world we want to create' emerging in the UN75 initiative were environmental protection, protection of human rights, less conflict, equal access to basic services, and zero discrimination.
In addition to the survey, participants in various dialogues were asked to share their vision for the world they want to create. The dialogues presented a slightly different order of priorities emerged than from the survey.
For participants in the dialogues in India, the key priority areas were a a more secure and peaceful world, free of violence, conflict and terrorism, a world with equal access to basic services, "a world that protects its ecosystems and respects its natural resources, a world free of poverty and unemployment.
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In dialogues in India, the key issues that were raised were worrying impacts of climate change and changes in environment, increasing poverty and inequalities, the need for reduced inequalities within and between countries security threats, challenges caused by population changes, including population growth, shifting demographics and increasing population movements within and between countries.
Discussions in more than 20 dialogues found that breakdown of trust between governments, and between people and governments will increase.
These included multiple dialogues held in Afghanistan, Argentina, Fiji, India, Italy, Nigeria, Mexico, Papua New Guinea, Slovenia, South Africa, South Sudan, Tunisia, the United States of America.
Better support for international standards, enforcement of international agreements and improved implementation with concrete action, oversight and a prevention approach, with specific reference to scaling up implementation of the disarmament agenda and the SDGs were points raised in eight dialogues, including multiple dialogues held in Afghanistan, Argentina, India, Mexico, Slovenia, and South Africa, including youth dialogues.
Preliminary findings of the survey, based on data collected between January 1, 2020 and March 24, 2020 found that an overwhelming majority 95 per cent --of respondents agreed on the need for countries to work together to manage global trends, with a noticeable uptick from late February, as the upheaval caused by COVID-19 spread around the world.
Support cut across all age groups and education levels. Ideas on strengthening international cooperation included more effective partnerships with civil society and the private sector, and greater involvement of women, youth, indigenous peoples and vulnerable groups in policymaking.
Climate and environment topped the list of issues that will most affect humanity's future with more than double the responses of any other issue. Conflict and violence came second, and health risks third, having risen sharply since early March.
The top five future priorities that emerged were: environmental protection, protection of human rights, less conflict, equal access to basic services, and zero discrimination.
UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said he hopes to use the milestone 75th anniversary of the world organisation for reflection on the multilateral cooperation the world needs at this time, both in addressing the immediate pandemic and in achieving the longer-term goals for which the United Nations was founded.
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