Norway’s main priorities for the 79th session of the UN General Assembly

Background              

The UN General Assembly is the world’s most representative multilateral forum for dialogue and policy development. As such, it is a key arena for promoting Norwegian interests, for international cooperation, and for finding solutions to global challenges. The overall guidelines for Norwegian multilateral policy remain unchanged, see the white paper Norway’s Role and Interests in Multilateral Cooperation (Meld. St. 27 (2018–2019)). Norwegian policy is based on the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and international law.

The 79th session of the UN General Assembly will open on 10 September 2024 at the UN Headquarters in New York and will begin with the inauguration of the new President, Mr Philemon Yang of Cameroon. The theme for the 79th session including the General Debate will be: Leaving no one behind: acting together for the advancement of peace, sustainable development and human dignity for present and future generations. The General Assembly High-level Week will take place from 22–30 September. Norway’s delegation will be led by Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre. Minister of Foreign Affairs Espen Barth Eide, Minister of International Development Anne Beathe Tvinnereim, and Acting Minister of Climate and Environment Tore Onshuus Sandvik will also be taking part. Observers from the Storting (Norwegian parliament) and representatives of Norwegian civil society organisations will be included in the Norwegian delegation and will participate in various events during the autumn session. Most of the General Assembly meetings will be  streamed online and will be accessible to everyone.

A number of high-level meetings will be held during the High-level Week. The most important of these will be the Summit of the Future, which will take place on 20–23 September. At the Summit, countries will adopt a Pact for the Future focusing on topics such as sustainable development and financing for development; peace and security; technology and digital cooperation; youth and future generations; and the reform of global governance. A Global Digital Compact and a Declaration on Future Generations will also be adopted at the Summit. Other key high-level meetings will highlight the issues of rising sea levels and of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), and the importance of cooperation between the UN, the multilateral development banks and the G20. In addition, a G20 Foreign Ministers’ meeting will be held on 25 September.

The General Assembly’s 79th session is taking place against the backdrop of a complex global geopolitical situation. Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine and the war in Gaza are challenging international law. Together with other factors, this has diminished trust between countries in the North and the South and increased geopolitical tensions between East and West. At the same time, international law is being undermined by conservative forces and authoritarian regimes that are seeking to change the UN fundamentally and turn it into a different organisation from the one we have known since 1945, with human rights and values such as democracy and equality coming under increasing pressure. In addition, the world is contending with a climate and environmental crisis, a large number of armed conflicts, transnational violent extremism, and several protracted humanitarian crises.

Norway considers it vital to address the current crisis of trust and will give high priority to counteracting polarisation. We will continue to be a consistent and reliable partner that seeks dialogue and cooperation in order to promote common solutions across regional divides. Our aim is to advance progress on the SDGs, strengthen multilateral cooperation and respect for international law, and restore trust in the multilateral system. The efforts of the multilateral system are guided by the 2030 Agenda. Enormous needs combined with limited resources and rising geopolitical tensions make it vital to think along new lines. Key topics include reform of the international financing architecture and increased representation for the Global South in multilateral governing bodies.

The UN General Assembly’s 79th session lasts until September 2025. The negotiations in the General Assembly and its six main committees will continue throughout the session, and Norway will be represented by its Permanent Mission to the UN in New York together with officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other relevant ministries in Oslo. In addition to these instructions, separate instructions are being drawn up for the negotiations in the General Assembly’s main committees, based on Norway’s overall priorities and capacity.

1. Foster multilateral cooperation

Multilateral cooperation and respect for international law are vital for Norway’s security, economy and welfare. The current geopolitical situation is having a major impact on multilateral organisations. It has become more difficult to address common challenges through compromise and cooperation. At the same time, the world is facing global threats and challenges that no country can solve on its own. The UN must adapt to this reality. A key goal of the Government’s foreign policy is to promote binding international cooperation and safeguard the multilateral system, in order to increase our ability to deal with global challenges, such as the climate and environmental crisis, pandemics and pressure on international law. Norway will work to:

• Counteract polarisation and restore trust in the multilateral system. Promote cooperation across traditional and regional divides. Mobilise support for multilateral solutions by building bridges, listening to others, and using constructive diplomacy, not least vis-à-vis African countries and the Global South.
• Make the UN more effective and representative. Support the resolutions adopted on the reform of UN management, of the UN peace and security pillar, and of the UN development system. Secure more flexible and predictable financing for the UN.
• Promote results-based management in UN institutions and sound and effective management of UN resources, and ensure that the UN has the funding and flexibility it needs to fulfil its mandates. Promote system-wide coordination at country level and across the UN’s three pillars through a nexus approach that recognises the interlinkages between humanitarian action, peacebuilding and long-term development. Contribute constructively to the negotiations on the new resolution on the quadrennial comprehensive policy review of UN operational activities for development (QCPR).
• Ensure that efforts to promote human rights, including women’s rights and participation, are given priority across all the UN’s areas of work.
• Promote Nordic coordination and a clearer Nordic voice in the UN.
• Promote more representative and inclusive multilateral cooperation for example by seeking to increase the participation of civil society, and young people in particular.
• Strengthen the relationship between the General Assembly, the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and the Security Council, and follow the reform process closely. Foster close cooperation with other actors, including the multilateral development banks.
• Support the principles set out in the Pact for the Future on the reform of global governance. Highlight Norway’s potential role as host country of the Internet Governance Forum 2025, and link these efforts to the Global Digital Compact and the importance of achieving an open, free and secure digital future for all.

2. Promote international law and the international legal order

For Norway, it is vital to maintain an international legal order that provides a clear and predictable framework for international law. The importance of having fundamental rules of international law governing relations between states has been brought to the fore in recent years. More and more tools in the international legal toolbox are being employed in the response to international crises, while technological advances are creating a growing need for new international regulation. At the same time, there are many examples of international law being challenged. Our focus now is just as much on preserving existing rules and preventing regression in this area as on establishing new rules. Norway will work to:  

• Maintain a world order based on international law, including the principles set out in the UN Charter. Promote respect for and compliance with international law, including international humanitarian and human rights law, and safeguard the international legal order.
• Participate constructively in discussions on the development and codification of international law.
• Counter the narrative on double standards in international law by working to ensure consistent, apolitical application of the principles and rules of international law.
• Actively promote international dispute settlement mechanisms.
• Safeguard the position of the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea as the legal framework for all activity at sea. Support the implementation of the new international marine biodiversity agreement (BBNJ Agreement). Strengthen and further develop the law of the sea as the basis for sound ocean management and the sustainable use of resources.
• Participate actively in discussions on issues relating to international humanitarian law (IHL), with a view to countering attempts to weaken or undermine existing IHL obligations.
• Support the ILC’s work on crimes against humanity and the negotiation of a convention on this issue based on the ILC’s draft articles.
• Combat impunity. Actively support the International Criminal Court (ICC) and help to protect it against possible attacks. Support a potential new convention on the criminal accountability of UN officials and experts on mission.
• Follow the discussions on the ILC’s draft articles on the protection of persons in the event of disasters. Develop a united Nordic position.
• Follow the discussions on universal jurisdiction, and prevent any weakening of the capacity to combat and respond to the most serious crimes.
• Play a constructive role in the efforts to conclude a comprehensive convention on international terrorism.
• Participate actively in discussions on the ILC’s annual reports, and ensure that the UN General Assembly takes steps to follow up the ILC’s work.
• Strengthen the UN’s role in ensuring responsible management of the internet, artificial intelligence and new technologies at a global level, and promote multi-stakeholder cooperation in the digital arena.

3. Strengthen human rights

The UN’s mandate and unique position give the organisation a special responsibility to contribute to progress in the areas of democracy, anti-corruption, good governance and human rights. The Summit of the Future and Pact for the Future will be important milestones in terms of strengthening human rights and gender equality perspectives in the efforts to accelerate implementation of the SDGs. There has long been a failure to comply with international human rights obligations in many countries that have been moving away from democracy. Civil society representatives, journalists and human rights defenders in many countries are experiencing curtailment of their rights, including their freedom of expression, assembly and association. Women’s rights and gender equality, in particular sexual and reproductive health and rights, and the rights of LGBT+ people, are under pressure. These issues are high on the UN’s agenda. Norway considers it vital to safeguard universal rights and fundamental freedoms, legal protection and the rule of law, particularly in times of crisis. Norway will work to:

• Play a key role in the efforts to promote and protect human rights, democracy and the rule of law, and to incorporate a rights-based approach into all aspects of the UN’s work.
• Counter polarisation by encouraging cooperation and compromise across regional and other divides.
• Promote and protect human rights defenders. Give particular priority to safeguarding freedom of expression, freedom of religion or belief, freedom of assembly and workers’ rights.
• Facilitate the meaningful participation of civil society in UN work and processes.
• Combat discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, religion or belief, disability, ethnicity or other minority status.
• Promote gender equality and women’s rights, including the right to decide over one’s own body. Ensure that women’s rights and gender equality are integrated as a cross-cutting issue.
• Ensure that sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) and women’s right to economic and political participation are given particular priority in gender equality efforts. Support international efforts to combat sexual and gender-based violence.
• Support UN efforts to prevent and combat corruption and promote anti-corruption measures.

4. Enhance the UN’s capacity to prevent and resolve conflicts

The best way to promote peace and security is through predictable international cooperation based on international law and the peaceful settlement of disputes. The UN plays a key role in international efforts to advance peace and security, which are a prerequisite for sustainable development. Norway will work to:

• Prevent, mitigate and resolve conflicts, and as a member of the UN Peacebuilding Commission, promote comprehensive UN efforts to support countries affected by conflict and fragility. Encourage the UN to cooperate actively with other multilateral organisations, such as the World Bank, the regional development banks, and regional organisations. The partnership between the UN and the African Union (AU) is particularly important in this context.
• Promote more coherent, coordinated and effective implementation of UN peace operations, based on a nexus approach. This work will be guided by the Secretary-General’s Action for Peacekeeping (A4P), Action for Peacekeeping + (A4P+), and New Agenda for Peace initiatives, and the principles on reform and strengthening of UN peace and security efforts set out in the Pact for the Future.
• Highlight the need to strengthen the protection of civilians, including children, in armed conflicts, and raise this issue in all relevant UN forums. Ensure that the UN General Assembly presents a clear, consistent message on the need to achieve full compliance with international humanitarian law in all armed conflicts. Strengthen the capacity of UN peace operations to protect civilians, including through support for political processes.
• Support UN peace diplomacy efforts. Maintain an active engagement in efforts to address conflicts and humanitarian crises. Create meeting places and foster dialogue between parties to conflict and other relevant actors.
• Give priority to the women, peace and security agenda. Increase the proportion of women participating at all levels of UN peace operations, as both civilian and military personnel. Strengthen women’s rights and participation in all phases of peace processes and at all decision-making levels. Ensure that the gender perspective is integrated into all aspects of peace and security work, and that commitments in this area are translated into concrete action.
• Integrate climate-related security risks as a cross-cutting issue in UN peace and security efforts, in close collaboration with the countries that are most severely affected by climate change. Ensure that disaster risk reduction, adaptation and resilience building are included in regional and local dialogues and cooperation on peace, security and development.
• Participate actively in UN efforts to prevent and combat transnational terrorism and violent extremism, an area where Western countries and the Global South largely have common interests. Support UN efforts to combat transnational organised crime. Promote a comprehensive and human rights-based approach to these efforts.

 5. Continue to push for disarmament

The General Assembly is a key arena for the work on disarmament and international security. Norway works actively to promote disarmament and processes that can bring countries closer together on this issue, can engage the nuclear-weapon states, and can deliver results. Efforts to promote nuclear disarmament and cooperation with countries both in and outside NATO aimed at achieving a world without nuclear weapons will be strengthened. Nuclear disarmament verification is essential for achieving this goal and the development of a credible multilateral verification regime is therefore vital. Norway will work to:

• Maintain its leading role in the work to promote disarmament verification within the framework of the UN.
• Put forward a new resolution on disarmament verification, together with Brazil, based on the consensus report of the Group of Governmental Experts on Nuclear Disarmament Verification, which was presented in May 2023. The aim is to initiate consultations on establishing a group of scientific and technical experts on nuclear disarmament verification within the UN.
• Strengthen the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and ensure that the NPT continues to be the cornerstone of the international disarmament and non-proliferation regime.
• Promote the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), particularly vis-à-vis countries that have not yet signed and/or ratified the Treaty, as co-President of the Conference on Facilitating Entry into Force of the CTBT (Article XIV Conference).
• Ensure compliance with the Convention on Cluster Munitions and the Mine Ban Treaty.
• Support the further development of a UN-led legal order that creates a predictable framework and promotes peaceful coexistence in outer space.
• Increase support for the global framework for responsible state behaviour in cyberspace. Norway supports initiatives aimed at creating a stronger common understanding of how existing international law, including international humanitarian law, applies to state activities in cyberspace.
• Promote regulation of autonomous weapons systems, taking a two-track approach: an explicit ban on weapons systems that cannot be used in compliance with international humanitarian law and a regulatory framework for other types of weapons systems with autonomous functions.
• Promote multilateral dialogue on disarmament and the principle of irreversibility, multilateral measures to reduce the risk of nuclear weapons being used, and arms control efforts, and raise awareness of the humanitarian impacts of nuclear weapons.

6. Maintain the UN’s capacity to prevent and respond to humanitarian crises, and promote international cooperation on refugees and migrants

Norway will promote compliance with international humanitarian law and the principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence in order to assist and protect people affected by humanitarian crises. Norway will work to:

• Implement Norwegian humanitarian policy in line with Norway’s new humanitarian strategy (2024­–2029), with a focus on enhancing protection of civilians against violence and other forms of abuse, strengthening efforts to combat hunger and reducing the gap betweenincreasing humanitarian needs and available resources.
• Strengthen humanitarian efforts in light of the significant increase in humanitarian needs resulting from the growing number of protracted armed conflicts, climate-related threats, and economic setbacks.
• Enhance the protection of people affected by crisis and conflict, with a particular focus on efforts to combat sexual and gender-based violence, as well as on protection of children, young people, refugees and internally displaced people, and health and education institutions, and on protection against mines and other explosives, and on the impacts of war in urban areas.
• Promote mine clearance and humanitarian disarmament, including the implementation of the Political Declaration on Strengthening the Protection of Civilians from the Humanitarian Consequences arising from the use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas (EWIPA Declaration).
• Strengthen the UN humanitarian system, in line with the commitments made in the Grand Bargain, which was launched at the World Humanitarian Summit in 2016.
• Achieve a more effective and better coordinated response for refugees, displaced people and host communities, in line with the Government’s dedicated funding initiative in this area, the Refugee Convention and the Global Compact on Refugees. Promote safe, orderly and regular migration and counter irregular migration, within the framework of the Global Compact for Migration.
• Promote humanitarian innovation and green humanitarian response as well as new working methods that increase effectiveness and deliver better results for people affected by crisis.

7. Advance the implementation of the 2030 Agenda, with particular emphasis on financing for development, food security, climate and environmental issues, energy, gender equality, health, and the oceans

The 2030 Agenda is the world’s action plan for sustainable development. It integrates all three dimensions of sustainable development – the economic, social and environmental. The 2030 Agenda was adopted by the UN General Assembly in 2015 with the support of all 193 member states. It sets out 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 169 targets. Norway played an active role in securing the adoption of the SDGs and has committed to working to reach them by 2030. However, there are significant challenges to achieving the SDGs over the next six years. Overlapping and successive crises combined with a lack of effective, global political solutions have hampered efforts to reach virtually all of the SDGs. The world is facing both a deficit of trust and inadequate access to financial capital for sustainable development.

Norway is a partner for the UN in the effort to implement the 2030 Agenda. We attach importance to being consistent and predictable. In its efforts to reach all 17 SDGs, Norway is working to further develop national and global partnerships and strengthen cooperation with actors that can make constructive and innovative contributions, by providing financing and other solutions. The multilateral development banks, with their effective financing models, have a crucial role to play. The business sector, civil society organisations and the academic community all serve as important partners in this context, providing access to networks, expertise or capital. Norway will work to:

• Create consensus on policies that lead to more effective implementation of the SDGs, by providing constructive technical and strategic guidance on political commitments, priorities, flexible financing, joint initiatives and targeted partnerships.
• Ensure that the conclusions of the SDG Summit, Norwegian political priorities relating to sustainable development, and the outcome of the Summit of the Future are incorporated into the process leading up to next year’s Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4). Encourage the UN and UN member states to view this process as a strategic tool for advancing the 2030 Agenda.
• Promote support for the International Forum on Total Official Support for Sustainable Development (TOSSD) and the TOSSD framework as a reporting system that provides visibility and incentives for financing efforts that will help us to reach the SDGs, but that cannot at present be reported, wholly or in part, as official development assistance (ODA).
• Promote a nexus approach and improve coordination between humanitarian action, peacebuilding and long-term development efforts. Highlight the importance of a human rights-based approach and of gender equality as a cross-cutting issue if we are to achieve the SDGs.

In particular, Norway will work to secure good results in the following areas:

a. Financing for Development

• Increase the focus on SDG 8 on promoting ‘sustained, inclusive and sustainable economic growth, full and productive employment and decent work for all’; SDG 1 on ending poverty; and SDG 10 on reducing inequality. Highlight women’s role in and contribution to delivering economic growth.
• Promote constructive cooperation between the UN system and the multilateral development banks.
• Take on a leadership role in the efforts to implement the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and in the work on financing for development. Give priority to issues such as domestic resource mobilisation, tax cooperation, private investment mobilisation, and the fight against illicit financial flows, corruption and tax crime. Increase the focus on the negative impacts of corruption. Support UN efforts in the areas of anti-corruption and good governance.
• Encourage the UN and the multilateral system to raise their ambitions as regards combating illicit financial flows. Respond constructively to calls from the Global South to ensure that the forums developing international tax rules and standards include as many countries as possible, in order to secure broad support for and give legitimacy to global tax measures.
• Push for constructive reforms to promote timely and effective handling of government debt crises. Advocate full transparency on debt and promote responsible borrowing and lending practices to prevent the risk of new debt problems undermining progress towards the SDGs.
• Promote digital cooperation to reduce the digital gap within developing countries and between developed and developing countries, as champion of the Digital Public Goods Alliance. Take part in the discussions on the Global Digital Compact and foster closer cooperation on enhancing digital access and public digital infrastructure.
• Highlight the need for more effective, better coordinated and less fragmented development aid. Core support is often more effective than earmarked aid. Core support also provides a unique multiplier effect for the development banks.
• Promote transparency, integrity and accountability, including in Norway’s capacity as co-facilitator of the Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4), to be held in Spain in 2025.

b. Hunger, food security and climate-smart agriculture

• Work to achieve the goals set out in Norway’s strategy for promoting food security in development policy – Combining forces against hunger – a policy to improve food self-sufficiency.
• Strengthen international efforts to end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition, enhance social safety nets, and promote sustainable food production.
• Support initiatives targeted towards small-scale food producers in developing countries and aimed at increasing climate-resilient food production.
• Increase recognition of the links between food security and climate change, including at COP 29.
• Support the UN Secretary-General’s efforts and leadership in the area of food security, including his engagement in securing the export of agricultural products from Ukraine to the global market. 

c. Climate, environment and clean energy

• Encourage countries to submit more ambitious nationally determined contributions (NDCs) by the deadline (early 2025).
• Mobilise finance for the development of renewable energy and climate technology in developing countries and emerging economies.
• Put climate change adaptation, the issue of loss and damage, biodiversity and disaster risk reduction high on the international agenda.
• Promote the implementation of the new global biodiversity framework (Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework).
• Make the Loss and Damage Fund fully operational.
• Put the area of climate, peace and security on the international agenda.
• Support international climate and environmental efforts in areas where Norway has comparative advantages and can help to create jobs. These areas include: renewable energy development, carbon capture and storage, hydrogen, offshore wind, green shipping, as well as sustainable ocean management and seabed mapping.
• Promote Norway’s priorities in the lead-up to the UN climate change conference (COP 29) in Baku, in official and bilateral meetings, and through participation in relevant side events.

d. Gender equality – which leads to greater freedom, welfare and democracy

• Implement Norway’s Action Plan for Women’s Rights and Gender Equality in Foreign and Development Policy (2023–2030), which provides the basis for our efforts to reach SDG 5 on gender equality. Integrate gender equality as a cross-cutting issue in our efforts to reach all the SDGs.
• Give priority to safeguarding the right of women and girls to decide over their own bodies, and to enhancing protection against violence and harmful practices, strengthening economic and political rights and increasing the participation of women in efforts relating to climate change, energy and food security.
• Seek to prevent setbacks in women’s rights and actively promote the implementation of, and compliance with, international and national obligations relating to the promotion of women’s participation.
• Give priority to the efforts to protect and promote women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights. Strengthen women’s right to decide over their own bodies, by stepping up efforts on this issue and seeking to establish new alliances.
• Improve women’s and girls’ access to education, digital technology/training and health services, and enhance protection against violence and harmful practices, including in areas affected by crisis and conflict.
• Give priority to the efforts to promote women’s participation at all levels of decision-making in the labour market, business, the political arena and in governance.

e. Good health – a good in itself and vital for sustainable development

• Promote global health as an important component of the 2030 Agenda. Good nutrition, food security and environments that promote health and well-being are key.
• Work to ensure that the political declaration from the 2024 high-level meeting on antimicrobial resistance is used as input in other processes, including in Geneva. Promote a cross-sectoral approach highlighting the links between AMR, One Health, climate change and health.
• Promote sexual and reproductive health and rights, and measures that can reduce sexual violence and sexual harassment, particularly in humanitarian crises and conflict situations.
• Support international norms and standards, mobilise funding and protect global public goods, across regional groups of countries.

f. Clean and healthy oceans – which are crucial to human survival

• Give high priority to the two annual General Assembly resolutions on oceans and the law of the sea and on sustainable fisheries, respectively.
• Promote a global agreement on combating plastic pollution and marine litter, and work to advance implementation of the BBNJ Agreement.
• Support knowledge-based ocean management and the UN Decade of Ocean Science.
• Raise awareness of the work of the Ocean Panel and highlight its relevance for UN member states. Seek to ensure that the recommendations of the Ocean Panel are successfully incorporated into the UN’s agenda and into the work of UN organisations, programmes and funds. Ocean-based solutions and sustainable management can help mitigate climate change and enhance food security.
• Increase international recognition of the importance of the oceans for the economy, food security, energy production and job creation, and of the role that sustainable use of marine resources and clean and healthy oceans play in enhancing value creation. It is important to ensure that women have the same opportunities as men to benefit from the development of new industries.
• Enhance coordination between the UN’s ocean-related efforts and the ongoing work under the UN Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity.