Omar Touray, President of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Commission, has urged world leaders to take concrete actions on long-standing commitments to global peace and development during the Summit of the Future at the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
In a statement released by the ECOWAS Commission, Touray praised UN Secretary-General António Guterres for organizing the summit, emphasizing its critical timing as the world faces significant choices ahead.
“The timing of the summit is particularly significant, as our world stands at a crossroads,” he stated, highlighting the necessity of choosing between a tumultuous past and a more equitable, cooperative future. He questioned the effectiveness of the newly introduced Pact for the Future, pointing out that many of its commitments have been reiterated in various UN frameworks over the years.
Touray remarked, “The fact that we have come back to the same old commitments suggests that we still need greater political will to deliver on these promises.”
He underscored that for ECOWAS, the success of the Pact hinges on actual implementation and called for urgent action on peace and security, sustainable development, climate justice, and youth empowerment.
Touray warned that failure to act could render the summit a mere reflection of the past, stating, “If we fail to deliver once again, history will look back to this summit not as the summit of the future but as a Summit of the Past.”
