New York, New York — For several decades, His Excellency Abdulla Shahid has moved between national politics in the Maldives and the multilateral arena in New York, building a reputation as one of the most persistent voices for small states, climate-vulnerable communities, and inclusive global decision-making. As President of the 76th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, he framed his tenure as a “Presidency of Hope,” focusing on post-pandemic recovery, renewed trust in multilateralism, and the protection of human rights and the planet.
Today, he brings that same outlook to his role as International Ambassador of the International Communities Organisation (ICO), a London-based body with United Nations ECOSOC consultative status that works with divided and conflict-affected societies and advocates for minority rights. ICO’s recent “For Our Future” report, produced in collaboration with a number of Permanent Missions, is a leading attempt to translate the UN Pact for the Future into a practical implementation pathway, linking high-level commitments to workable local strategies and institutional reform.
In parallel, Abdulla Shahid has become one of the most prominent voices urging the global community to confront longstanding imbalances in international leadership. In a widely discussed editorial, he argued that the next Secretary-General of the United Nations should be a woman, noting that the challenge is not a lack of qualified candidates but a lack of will to nominate and support them. For him, credibility, legitimacy, and representation are inseparable from the future of multilateral cooperation.
This interview, conducted following ICO’s high-level event at United Nations Headquarters on the implementation of the Pact for the Future, invites reflection on some of the most pressing issues before the international community. Abdulla Shahid discusses the early test facing the Pact, the role of local actors in fragile environments, the expectations of youth, and the moral and strategic case for inclusive leadership. His responses offer a grounded perspective on how diplomacy, governance, and community-level engagement can come together to shape a more just and resilient global order.
The Pact for the Future will soon move from agreement to implementation. From your vantage point, what first steps will determine whether the Pact succeeds or stalls in its early phase?
The success of the Pact for the Future will depend on political will matched with practical action. As I said at the UN during the “For Our Future” event, commitments alone do not change lives; “communities on the frontlines of conflict cannot live on words, they need protection, opportunity, and justice.”
Three early steps are decisive. First, Member States must approach implementation through the interconnected lens of the UN’s three pillars, peace and security, sustainable development, and human rights. The Pact recognises these cannot be separated, especially in fragile contexts. Second, we must strengthen national and local prevention strategies, addressing root causes before crises escalate. The Pact explicitly calls for early diplomacy, inclusive mediation, and innovative conflict-resolution mechanisms. This topic was highlighted by the Permanent Representative of Germany during the event. Third, implementation must begin with communities themselves. Sustainable peace cannot be delivered solely from conference rooms. It is built “in neighbourhoods, villages, and schools.”
But there is a fourth essential element, without which the first three cannot succeed. We need effective technical multilateral cooperation, the kind that brings together Member States, UN entities, civil society organisations, and technical experts to translate commitments into tangible, practical steps. Civil society in particular plays a crucial role by providing early warning, contextual knowledge, and direct links to affected communities.
If we embed all of these principles, political will, prevention, community-centred implementation, and technical multilateral cooperation, the Pact will not stall. It will deliver.
Credit: Amb, Abdulla Shahid on X.
ICO’s “For Our Future” report sets out practical pathways for Member States and institutions. Which elements offer the strongest foundation for real progress within the UN system over the next two years?
What makes the For Our Future report so valuable is that it identifies the practical conditions under which global commitments translate into real outcomes on the ground. Three recommendations, in particular, offer the strongest foundation for progress within the UN system over the next two years.
First, the report emphasises the importance of developing local actors as genuine drivers of change. When communities are not only consulted but empowered to propose, lead, and evaluate initiatives, implementation becomes both sustainable and legitimate. This approach turns the Pact’s aspirations into locally owned action.
Second, it highlights the need to embed agility and adaptability into programme design. Peacebuilding and prevention unfold in dynamic environments; policies must evolve with the context. Designing programmes with built-in flexibility ensures that Member States and UN entities can respond to changing realities without derailing progress.
Third, the report underscores the critical role of inclusive, long-term reconciliation processes, efforts that reshape both institutions and societal narratives. Lasting peace requires more than technical reform; it requires generational shifts in trust, perception, and civic participation.
Together, these three elements, local agency, adaptable design, and long-term inclusive reconciliation, form a powerful, actionable foundation for Member States as they begin implementing the Pact. They represent the clearest pathway from commitment to meaningful, measurable progress.
You have spoken often about inclusive global governance. How can the Pact for the Future create space for communities affected by conflict, minorities, and smaller states to influence decisions that shape their lives?
The Pact for the Future is very clear. Diplomacy, peace processes, and governance must open up to those who have traditionally been pushed to the margins – women, young people, minorities, and other vulnerable groups. This reflects ICO’s own experience. When communities participate meaningfully, solutions become durable. When they are excluded, peace becomes fragile.
One of the key reasons for hosting this event was precisely to encourage, support, and work with Member States to ensure that the commitments under the peace and security pillar fully recognise the realities of vulnerable communities, minority groups, and peoples. While the Pact speaks strongly about youth and women, there must be greater emphasis on marginalised and intersectionally affected groups whose lived experiences often define the success or failure of peace efforts. Bringing these voices into the centre of implementation is essential if the Pact’s commitments are to become tangible outcomes.
ICO’s work shows what this looks like in practice. In Cameroon, by strengthening local councils and linking them to national decision-making, communities are gaining real influence over the issues that shape their daily lives. In Kosovo, the Kosovo Forum for Non-Majority Communities shows how minority voices can be institutionalised within governance processes, transforming dialogue into structured participation, an embodiment of the Pact’s spirit.
For small states in particular, and I say this as someone who comes from one, the Pact reinforces a core principle: global governance must work for everyone, not only for the powerful. When the most vulnerable communities are protected, represented, and able to shape solutions, the entire multilateral system becomes stronger.
Your “Presidency of Hope” placed emphasis on optimism and collective action. How does that experience guide your work today as ICO’s International Ambassador, especially as the international landscape becomes more polarised?
Hope is not a slogan; as I often said, hope is a workplan. That belief guides my work every day.
During my Presidency, I framed the Five Rays of Hope. The Pact for the Future now gives those rays a permanent home. It turns them into a framework for global cooperation, with concrete commitments and follow-up.
Today’s international landscape is more polarised. Mistrust is higher. Geopolitics is sharper. This is exactly why I see hope as a discipline.
The discipline to keep dialogue open, even when we deeply disagree. The discipline to put communities at the centre of our decisions. The discipline to persist when negotiations stall and progress feels painfully slow. And the discipline to remind Member States that, although multilateralism is imperfect, it remains our best tool for solving shared problems.
In my role as ICO’s International Ambassador, I see this disciplined hope in practice. In divided Cyprus, conflict-affected Cameroon, in post-crisis Kosovo, and in communities across the Middle East. Everywhere when people are given a genuine chance to participate, they still choose cooperation over division.
So yes, I am an optimist. Because communities keep showing us that another way is possible. My job, and the ICO’s mission, is to help bring that local courage to the heart of global governance.
The call for a woman to be elected as the next Secretary-General has drawn wide attention. How do you link that argument to the broader effort to renew trust in multilateral institutions?
The question is not whether a woman can lead the UN. The question is why the UN has never allowed one to try.
Renewing trust in multilateralism requires more than institutional reforms, it requires representation that reflects the world as it is today. Electing a woman Secretary-General would send a powerful message. It would show a UN that is committed to equality in practice, not just rhetoric. It would give us leadership that better reflects the diversity of the people we serve. It would mark a break from patterns that, for decades, have weakened public faith in global institutions.
Just as the Pact demands innovation in governance, it must also inspire courage in leadership selection. Representation at the top is not symbolic, it shapes policy priorities, institutional culture, and global perception of the UN’s legitimacy.
As the former Foreign Minister of the Maldives, you have long advocated for the concerns of small island developing states. How can the Pact for the Future reinforce this advocacy in concrete ways?
Small island developing states (SIDS) are among the least responsible for global crises, yet among the most affected. The Pact can reinforce their advocacy through three tangible commitments.
First, on risk and resilience. The Pact recognises that our governance structures must match the 21st-century risks. From climate change to disruptions in the supply chain, SIDS bear the brunt. The Pact must translate that recognition into support for early warning systems, adaptation and resilience-building that is accessible and tailored to SIDS.
Second, on finance and fairness. We will not survive on promises alone. Implementation of the Pact has to tackle structural inequalities in the international financial system. This means fairer access to climate finance, faster and simplified procedures, adequate support for loss and damage, and solutions to unsustainable debt.
Third, on voice and governance. For SIDS, inclusive governance means guaranteed access to decision-making spaces. SIDS cannot be perpetual observers to decisions that determine their fate.
When the multilateral system works for its smallest, it becomes legitimate and effective for all. This is how the Pact can turn SIDS advocacy into global responsibility.
ICO works directly with divided and conflict-affected communities. From your experience, what principles should guide engagement with communities when translating high-level commitments into meaningful outcomes?
When you work directly with communities affected by conflict, you learn very quickly that beautifully written commitments are not enough. What matters is how you show up. I would highlight three guiding principles.
First, listen before you act. Real participation begins with humility. The ICO’s work starts with listening. In practice, this means needs assessments, consultations and community-led identification of priorities. In Cameroon, it was local councils and communities themselves who defined what they needed. In Kosovo it was a survey of minority communities that shaped the Forum for Non-Majority Communities. When people help set the agenda, outcomes are more relevant and sustainable.
Second, empower, don’t impose. Communities are not beneficiaries. They are partners and the real experts on their own context. In Cyprus, inter-communal language programmes and joint initiatives worked because they were co-created. They build mutual agency and relationships across divides.
Third, build trust through continuity. Peace is sometimes a long and fragile process. Trust grows when engagement is consistent. ICO’s experience shows the value of staying present, often quietly behind the scenes, long after the headlines move on. Communities learn that you are not there for a photo op, but for the long haul.
A timely message from H.E. Abdulla Shahid, International Ambassador of the International Communities Organisation and former President of the UN General Assembly.
— DiplomaticWatch (@Diplo_Watch) December 5, 2025
In this short video, he speaks directly to young people with clarity and conviction:
“You are not leaders of… pic.twitter.com/4iJ1NalPoO
Youth participation and gender inclusion form part of the Pact’s ambition. What would you say to young people who feel disconnected from global processes and doubt their ability to influence them?
To young people, I would say this:
You are not the leaders of tomorrow, you are leaders today.
During my Presidency, I prioritised youth engagement, including strengthening the Youth Fellows Programme. That commitment continues through the Pact, which places youth and future generations at the centre of implementation.
Young people often bring ideas we “did not think of,” questions we “sometimes do not want to hear,” and the greatest moral clarity.
Your power comes not only from participating in formal processes, but from shaping public debates, mobilising communities, innovating solutions, and holding leaders accountable.
The disconnect many young people feel is not a sign of apathy, it is a sign that institutions must adapt. The Pact creates opportunities for that adaptation.
It was an honour to deliver the keynote address at the International Communities Organisation’s “For Our Future” report launching event at the United Nations Headquarters, reflecting on best practices for implementing the UN Pact for the Future.
— Abdulla Shahid (@abdulla_shahid) December 5, 2025
My sincere gratitude goes to the… pic.twitter.com/lbRanQfs5S
Finally, looking at the work ahead for ICO and its partners, what gives you confidence that the Pact for the Future can become more than a document on paper and instead shape the next chapter of multilateral cooperation?
My confidence comes, above all, from what I see in communities themselves. In every context where the ICO works, people are already doing the quiet difficult work of peace and coexistence. Women leaders in Cameroon’s Gender Coordination Committees, business owners who cross the Green Line in Cyprus to keep trade alive, minority representatives in Kosovo insisting on being heard. They are not waiting for the Pact to be implemented before acting. They are the living embodiment of the spirit of the Pact.
I am also encouraged by the willingness of Member States and civil society to engage with implementation. The turnout and participation of the launch event showed that, even in a time of deep mistrust, many actors still believe that multilateralism is “still alive, necessary and capable of renewal.” That readiness to move from negotiating texts to delivering results must not be underestimated.
Finally, I draw confidence from the fact that we are not starting from a blank page. The ICO’s “For Our Future” report sets out practical tools and methodologies that have already been tested in places like Cameroon, Cyprus, and Kosovo. We know more about how to build inclusive local institutions, how to create structured spaces for minority voices, and how to connect community-level initiatives to national and international decision-making.
People are demanding solutions equal to the crises they face. Communities are ready, many states are willing, and workable models exist. That combination is what convinces me that the Pact for the Future can help shape the next chapter of multilateral cooperation.
