UN chief announces establishment of advisory board on multilateralism

United Nations, March 19 (IANS) UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has announced the establishment of a high-level advisory board on effective multilateralism.

The advisory board will be asked to build on the ideas in Guterres' report on 'Our Common Agenda' and to make concrete suggestions for more effective multilateral arrangements across a range of key global issues, Xinhua news agency reported. Their non-binding recommendations would inform deliberations by member states at the proposed Summit of the Future in 2023.

Our Common Agenda, released in September 2021, calls for stronger governance of key issues of global concern.

The report proposes a Summit of the Future in 2023 to advance ideas for governance arrangements in certain areas that could be considered global public goods or global commons, including climate and sustainable development beyond 2030, the international financial architecture, peace, outer space, the digital space, major risks, and the interests of future generations.

The board is composed of 12 eminent persons with former Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and former Swedish Prime Minister Stefan Lofven as co-chairs.