IV. International cooperation

Chapter:

1. Introduction: International stability and human security in 2020

Source:

SIPRI Yearbook 2021

Author(s):

Dan Smith

On 21 September 2020, the UN General Assembly marked the UN’s 75th anniversary with a declaration that, while acknowledging ‘moments of disappointment’, amounted to an endorsement of and re-commitment to the UN’s fundamental goals and norms.¹¹¹ Despite vicissitudes during the past half-decade, many institutions of international cooperation remained vibrant, offering a framework for international relations to stay as peaceful and as conducive to human well-being as possible. That framework has not been used to the full for several years but has not suffered irretrievable damage. In September 2015, the UN adopted Agenda 2030 with its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).¹¹² Agenda 2030 remains an important expression of ambition for human progress and, with 169 specific targets, it offers criteria by which to assess economic and social development, including in the sphere of security and peace. There was limited progress on most of the goals up to 2020, when the Covid‑19 pandemic hit and made the task much more difficult.¹¹³ But with Agenda 2030 and the SDGs, a global conversation on what path to take as countries come out of the Covid‑19 pandemic at least has a shared starting point.