Representatives of the Baha’i International Community (BIC) joined a range of political leaders, subject experts, activists, and other stakeholders in exploring how structures of global governance can best deliver peace, sustainable development, human rights, and protect the natural environment.

The UN75 Global Governance Forum, held 16-18 September 2020 and organized by Stimson Center and UN75, focused on establishing more inclusive partnerships and building consensus around innovations in institutions, policies, and norms. 

Focusing on the practical and moral implications of growing global interdependence, BIC Representative Saphira Rameshfar was invited to speak at a session centered on strengthening a global civic ethic. 

“The idea that humankind is one sounds simple. But it implies a profound reordering of priorities,” Ms. Rameshfar said. 

“Too often, advancement of the common good is approached as a secondary objective— commendable, but to be pursued only after other, narrower national interests have been secured. The principle of the oneness of humanity forces us to ask new questions. For example: What will be the global implications of domestic policies? What choices contribute to shared prosperity and sustainable peace around the world?” 

These questions echo the growing calls for better systems and better reforms, as stated by Lysa John, Secretary-General of CIVICUS, “for the ideals of justice, equality, equity, and peace that the UN represents. And I think that’s a real sign of hope.” 

The Baha’i International Community, along with UN2020 and Together First, organized one of the Forum’s “community-driven sessions,” entitled “Reaching the Summit: Promoting the Potential of the UN75 Declaration”, with the aim of learning lessons from the past, thinking about ways to innovate, and identifying the necessary steps forward in fulfilling the commitments of the Declaration. 

BIC Representative Daniel Perell moderated this event and, in opening remarks, situated present efforts to update the global order within long-term trends toward integration and unity. 

“History must be instructive for us,” Mr. Perell said. “At each stage in human history, more complex levels of integration become not only possible, but necessary. New and more pressing challenges emerge, and the body politic is compelled to devise new arrangements that address the needs of the time through greater inclusivity, coherence, and collaboration.”

Among the topics discussed, the dialogue touched on the importance of political will as well as citizenship engagement, highlighting the importance of multistakeholder partnerships. 

Commenting on the process leading up to the anniversary of the UN and the adoption of the UN75 Declaration, Ambassador Alya Al-Thani, Permanent Representative of Qatar to the United Nations and UN75 Declaration Co-Facilitator, expressed, “This process has really brought together a very strong engagement between the United Nations, Member States, and the global civil society movement.” Highlighting the importance of partnerships in moving forward, Ambassador Al-Thani stated, “The UN today has shown a different means of engagement with young people and the global civil society movement by listening, and acknowledging, and engaging.... I believe this is something that will continue.”

In thinking about the potential ahead and the many possibilities that lie within reach, Mr. Perell stated in his closing remarks, “As forces for change gain in strength, perhaps it is not surprising that forces of the status quo are also rising. But humanity’s shared destiny is something that increasingly cannot be denied.” 

“The question before us, then, is how we move forward together—allowing all to see a higher call for justice and nobility in a future form of governance that is grounded in dignity, sustainability, and ethics. As we increasingly do this, no doubt this process will allow for the fruition of higher orders of collaboration.”

Held in the run-up to the 75th anniversary of the United Nations, the Forum sought to feed into a growing global conversation on the future of the multilateral system. The BIC will mark that milestone of the UN with a statement entitled A Governance Befitting: Humanity and the Path Toward a Just Global Order. The statement will be released 21 September 2020, the day the anniversary will be formally commemorated by the United Nations General Assembly.