STATEMENT BY THE SMALL STATES GROUP (SSG) ON THE INFORMAL INTERACTIVE DIALOGUE ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE PACT FOR THE FUTURE 17 JULY 2025, TRUSTEESHIP COUNCIL CHAMBER

Mr President
Excellencies

I have the honour to make this statement on behalf of the Small States Group (SSG), a cross-regional grouping of small states comprising both developed and developing countries. The list of 43 countries that have aligned with this statement will be circulated in due course. We welcome this opportunity to make a statement to share our views on the 2028 review of the Pact for the Future.

2 Amid the many uncertainties and challenges we face today, the Pact for the Future represents an important roadmap to guide our efforts in reinforcing and renewing the multilateral system. It represents our collective will to act and our ambition to change. It is well known that small states are consistently the most ardent defenders of the multilateral system. We therefore view the 2028 review of the Pact as an important moment to reflect on whether we are on track with our commitments in the Pact and what the review should achieve. Please allow me to make three points in this regard.

3 First, in laying the groundwork necessary for the review of the Pact, we must not lose sight of the spirit and purpose of the Pact. The Pact is ultimately our commitment of renewed trust and shared responsibility to build a better future for our people. The 2028 review of the Pact at the Heads of State and Government level will be a chance to reinvigorate our collective resolve at the highest level. At the same time, it is not only an opportunity to assess our progress of Pact implementation, but is also a milestone to reaffirm our political will to continue, particularly in areas where we have fallen short. 

4 Second, the review must align substantive Pact deliverables with the UN’s pursuit of resource efficiency, particularly under the UN80 initiative. We had earlier said in our statement at the briefing by the UN Secretary General on the UN80 initiative that the UN80 has to enhance efficiency and reposition the UN to deliver results for all our people. At a time where we have fewer resources on hand to manage growing global challenges, it would be useful to ask ourselves what a measure of success for Pact implementation would look like. From our perspective, paying particular attention to those commitments in the Pact that correspond to the most urgent challenges of our time would provide a more relevant and useful way to measure Pact implementation for Member States and stakeholders. Efforts at resource efficiency must not compromise our overall efforts to ensure that the Organisation continues to have the capacity to deliver its mandates across all three pillars of the UN’s work.

5 Third, there must be UN system-wide coherence for the implementation of the Pact. UN agencies need to coordinate and work together in a complementary manner to avoid duplication and maximise available resources. We also look forward to continued updates from the UNSG’s taskforce on their work vis-à-vis Pact implementation and continued interaction with member states in this regard, in the lead up to the review.  Progress on Pact implementation at the review will also require close cooperation and coordination between the UN system and member states.  

Mr President,

6 The members of the Small States Group underscore the importance of a multilateral system underpinned by the principles of the UN Charter and respect for international law. It is vital that we continue to be guided by the Pact in our efforts to strengthen the UN and ensure that it is equipped to deal with the challenges ahead. We stand ready to work with the Secretariat and all Member States on shaping the review of the Pact, to ensure that we remain on course with our commitments and so that the UN can continue to bring peace and stability for all our people and our nations.

Thank you

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