At the UN, world leaders try to lay out a vision for the future — and actually make it happen

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has issued a challenge to the leaders: Implement the 'The Pact for the Future'

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres: 'We are here to bring multilateralism back from the brink.' Photo: AP/Kamran Jebreili

The UN General Assembly adopted a “Pact for the Future” to meet the challenges of the 21st century. Now comes the hard part: uniting the world’s divided nations to move quickly to implement its 56 actions.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres thanked the 193-member world body for approving the pact and unlocking the door for nations to join forces to tackle challenges ranging from climate change and artificial intelligence to escalating conflicts and increasing inequality and poverty — and improve the lives of the world’s more than eight billion people.