The UN's proposed Declaration on Future Generations, intended to safeguard the rights and interests of those not yet born and catalyse action on long-term global challenges, is likely to be adopted in September 2024. Its success will depend on the implementation of measures at national and subnational levels.

This policy brief outlines how a Special Envoy for Future Generations and a UN Forum on Future Generations could support countries in this regard. It suggests how these tools could work and through what process they could be created. Working in tandem, the core functions of these tools are to:

-Support countries’ capacity to operationalise the commitment to safeguard future generations,

-Support the exchange knowledge and best practices between countries and between different parts of society,

-Review progress toward the commitment of stakeholders to actively safeguard future generations,

-Create a multilateral focal point that complements work on future generations across the UN system.

The Declaration, the Envoy, and the Forum work together as a set of complementary catalytic tools.

See also a related Policy Brief: Implementing a Declaration on Future Generations