Let’s not beat around the bush: this year’s United Nations General Assembly was a letdown. The annual September gathering produced very little to solve spreading wars, authoritarianism, nationalist populism, economic inequality, or worsening climate change. Nor did it accelerate progress on the Sustainable Development Goals.
From our view the problem is simple. UNGA doesn’t create enough space for civil society who work on behalf of the world’s underserved people. Instead, UNGA seems to heavily privilege state representation by government officials — many of whom cause the very crises the U.N. must solve and often treat UNGA merely as a platform for propaganda.
We need government representation, but this year’s disappointment shows the U.N. must also focus on access and participation for civil society who work with communities across the world. The first step should be to appoint a U.N. civil society envoy to foster better inclusion of people’s voices in U.N. decision-making. Otherwise, the U.N. risks losing relevance.
About the authors
Lysa John
Lysa John is the secretary general of CIVICUS and lives in South Africa. She has championed human rights and international mobilization for two decades. She worked as head of outreach for the U.N. high-level panel that drafted the blueprint for the Sustainable Development Goals and as global campaigns director at Save the Children.
Mandeep Tiwana
Mandeep Tiwana is the chief officer for evidence and engagement at CIVICUS and the organization's representative to the U.N. A human rights lawyer by training, Tiwana specializes in legislation relating to the core civil society freedoms of expression, association, and peaceful assembly. He is passionate about improving civil society’s participation in decision making and has written extensively on the intersection between civil society, sustainable development, and international affairs.
