Small Countries Are Crucial for the UN’s Long-Term Survival, and Singapore Leads the Way

Burhan Gafoor, ambassador of Singapore to the United Nations, photographed at the country’s mission, Feb. 12, 2024. Gafoor has over decades corralled resources and knowledge for small countries “to use their voice and UN votes effectively,” the author writes. The coalition is now poised to assert itself vigorously in negotiations leading to the Summit of the Future in September. The goal of that gathering, at the UN, is to revitalize multilateralism, or global cooperation among all countries. JOHN PENNEY/PASSBLUE

By Maria Luisa Gambale via PassBlue

As intense negotiations begin on the Pact for the Future — the highly anticipated outcome document to crown the Summit of the Future at the United Nations in September — long-term restructuring plans are playing out in constant tension with countless short-term emergencies. And the most pressing issues in the world today — conflict, climate change and inequity worsened by crises like the Covid-19 pandemic — weigh most heavily on the smallest states of the world, many of whom are among the newest UN members.

Small states, generally with populations of 10 million or fewer, may naturally suffer a disadvantage at the UN because of their size and relative power, but they have found coalition through two informal groups, the Forum of Small States and the Small States Group.

Which is where the Singapore mission comes in, with its decades-long struggle to corral resources and knowledge for small states to use their voice and UN votes effectively. The head of the mission, Permanent Representative Burhan Gafoor, was there when it started in 1992 and has been back in his current role since 2016.

Gafoor is a lifelong diplomat whose curiosity about the world drove him into international relations. When we met with him at the ultramodern, compact, glass and steel offices of the Singapore mission, near the UN, he spoke with an assured scholarliness that comes from literally writing a chapter in the “Small States in a Big World” book. But he also has a quiet sincerity that would make anyone believe the UN could fulfill its greatest potential.

Since 1992, the Singapore mission has coordinated the Forum of Small States, or FOSS, where countries with small populations discuss their similar concerns. Last year, an offshoot of the forum, the Small States Group, emerged. The group is composed of 55 of the FOSS countries that stepped forward to assert themselves more vigorously in the process around the UN secretary-general’s plans for the Summit of the Future, which among other goals aims to “move towards a reinvigorated multilateral system that is better positioned to positively impact people’s lives.”

We talked to Gafoor to get a detailed perspective on the real impact that small states are making and what effects the two groups — though neither voting blocs nor decision-making bodies — are having at the UN and in Pact for the Future negotiations. Gafoor’s description of the small states’ role is both simple and grand, claiming: “We are in many ways the defenders of the multilateral system.”

This interview, conducted in February, is our third story in a new series about the positioning of small states in the UN system. It was heavily condensed and edited for clarity from a generous conversation. — MARIA LUISA GAMBALE

PassBlue: Let’s start with talking about the creation of the Forum of Small States, or FOSS.

Gafoor: The early 1990s were a good period for the UN and multilateralism. It was after the collapse of the Berlin Wall, and it was a relatively peaceful period. But we realized that whenever there were elections to UN bodies, the smaller states were often finding it difficult to compete with the larger countries in elections, whether it was the Security Council, ECOSOC [Economic and Social Council] or other UN bodies. It occurred to us that if smaller countries were able to work with each other and support each other, there’s no reason why we couldn’t get elected. If you look at the membership of the UN [193 countries], we have the numbers electorally. [FOSS currently has 108 members.] The idea of the Forum of Small States, in 1992, was to bring smaller countries together and see how we could work with each other and support each other starting with candidatures but also on a range of other issues.

PassBlue: How did the creation of the Forum of Small States manifest?

Gafoor: It was intended to be a very informal platform, a platform for exchanging views, positions on issues at the UN, especially issues being discussed in the General Assembly, where all countries have a vote and a voice. Over the years, we have kept it as a very informal platform, and people have found it useful because there’s something about being small. Even in the last seven or eight years that I’ve been here, the forum has become more present because I think there’s a real demand for a platform where small countries can talk to each other.

PassBlue: The “small states” label connotes a disempowered position. How would you define the positioning of small states at the UN these days?

Gafoor: First, I would say that we are in many ways defenders of the multilateral system. Second, we are the custodians of international law and the UN Charter because we have an interest in international law being respected by all countries. And when international law is violated, it is important for the UN to take a position. It is important that we do not allow the violation of international law to become normal or normalized.

But we are also, in my view, builders of convergence and searchers of solutions, because we want to find solutions. When there is geopolitical tension or political problems or bilateral problems between the large powers, the system becomes paralyzed. In a context of geopolitical tension, the larger countries may not have the incentive to look for solutions. And those who need to find solutions are often the smaller countries, who have a strong interest in the system functioning. I think as small states, we do not want to be silent bystanders.

PassBlue: How has the role of FOSS evolved, given the enormous changes that have occurred since the early 1990s, both in the world and at the UN and in the forum’s own composition?

Gafoor: Over the last few years — whether it’s the pandemic, whether it’s the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which is a violation of the Charter, and now discussions on the Summit of the Future, which is fundamentally about the future of multilateralism — there is even more interest in comparing notes on positions and a greater demand for information. So, for example, we invite the secretaries-general to come and talk to us. We share with him our concerns because the secretary-general also has to take into account the interests of the smaller states. He certainly must navigate the interests of the biggest countries, the permanent members, no doubt. But we want him to also understand our concerns. And Secretary-General António Guterres has been very good about that.

PassBlue: The forum also has an active relationship with the president of the General Assembly, or PGA.

Gafoor: Yes, we believe in strongly supporting the presidency of the General Assembly as small states. Because firstly, the General Assembly is the universal body, and in many ways, it is the strongest pillar of the multilateral system because it’s inclusive, universal and therefore legitimate in the eyes of the world. And the General Assembly has shown itself to be capable of acting when the Security Council is paralyzed, especially in recent years.

And we want to strengthen the role of the PGA. For example, the office has a very limited budget and the number of permanent posts allocated to it is very small. So each president must come in and bring his own staff, which institutionally disadvantages the president of the General Assembly. Because if you are from a small country, say, Trinidad and Tobago, Maldives, you would not have access to large budgets of your own, right? We have been one of those strongly saying that the office of the president of the General Assembly needs to be strengthened in terms of the resources we allocate.

PassBlue: Where else has the Forum of Small States had an outsized impact?

Gafoor: Let me give you a good example from recent times. The current discussions on the Summit of the Future came from the “Common Agenda,” produced by the secretary-general. The Common Agenda came from the UN75 Declaration, where we asked the secretary-general to give us his input on how the multilateral system can be strengthened. A group of small countries then put forward a resolution that we must welcome the Common Agenda and use it as a basis for strengthening the multilateral system. So, we shepherded the “Common Agenda” process, which then led to the Summit of the Future. That to me is a very good example of something we have done recently.

With the Summit, too, it was the smaller countries who came together and said: We need a Summit of the Future. We must also talk about the future of the UN, future of multilateralism and other issues, whether it’s digital technologies or AI or cybersecurity or outer space. Because those issues could also create inequalities and inequities. During the pandemic, there was a deficit of solidarity. The smallest countries were left alone. The poorest countries were left to their own devices. They couldn’t access vaccines. It tested the multilateral system, and we collectively failed that test during the pandemic.

PassBlue: What are the biggest challenges now in making the needs of small states heard at the UN headquarters in New York City?

Gafoor: The biggest challenge is really time and the limited resources of small states. For example, small states inevitably have too few diplomats to cover the many meetings of the UN. So, our voices end up not being heard.

PassBlue: So looking at the Summit of the Future and the first draft of the Pact for the Future, which is meant to solidify the summit’s purpose: If we were to ask a person on the street, it’s likely they’d be cynical about the prospects of true reform at the UN.

Gafoor: The first point that I would make is that the UN is an ecosystem of bodies. It is not just the Security Council, which is paralyzed. The UN delivers development assistance to countries around the world and makes a difference to the lives of people on the ground. People in midtown Manhattan may not realize that, and people in the United States may not realize that. But the UN system makes a deep difference to the poorest and most vulnerable people around the world. I think skepticism about the UN easily becomes cynicism about the UN, and that disempowers the UN. And it underestimates the work that it does right, and the impact it has on very vulnerable people and societies and communities in different parts of the world.

PassBlue: That’s a good point that US public opinion is very skewed toward cynicism about the UN. By way of another example, how would you describe public perception of the UN in Singapore?

Gafoor: People in Singapore have a great respect for the role of the UN, as a place where international law is debated and where the world takes a takes a stand. Younger people, for example, look at the UN as making a big difference with climate change, sustainable development motions. We are not dependent as a country on UN development assistance, but we are a country that benefited from the UN assistance 59 years ago. In the early years, UN officials came to Singapore to advise us on our economic policies. In some ways, we are a beneficiary of the UN system. Now what we are doing is going back to other smaller countries.

PassBlue: So we have the zero draft of the Pact for the Future, which is the document the UN hopes to agree on at the Summit of the Future in September. How is FOSS getting and staying involved in the negotiations underway?

Gafoor: There is another group that has emerged this year, or rather last year. It’s called the Small States Group (SSG). The 55 members were the countries who were most actively engaged in the Summit of the Future discussions. This is the group that has been taking positions on the Pact for the Future. The SSG is still not a negotiating group, because each member also belongs to another negotiating group. So, for example, in the case of Singapore, we are part of the Group of 77, which is the developing countries. The SSG also has the Nordic countries, three of whom, Finland, Denmark and Sweden, belong to the European Union. What we do, though, is offer views from a cross-regional perspective, and we come from the perspective of being constructive, pragmatic and wanting to find solutions.

PassBlue: What is the perspective of the Small States Group as well as your own perspective on the zero draft of the Pact for the Future?

Gafoor: In my view, the pact must be something that people around the world can understand and must demonstrate the commitment of leaders around the world to say, “We have met as leaders, and we believe in working together as leaders to make the world a better place.” It must be a message of hope. It must be a message of rebuilding trust. How do we do that? We don’t want this to be a declaratory exercise. It must be an action-oriented exercise. That is where the challenge of drafting the Pact of the Future comes. It is easier to be declaratory, positive, and hopeful on a piece of paper, but it’s much tougher to agree on a set of actions that we do collectively as nations of the world. And this is why this exercise is going to be challenging.

We have said as the SSG that the pact is a good starting point. The structure is good. It’s important to have a chapeau that has very broad appeal because it is in some ways like an executive summary that can be understood by people around the world. I like that it has a follow-up mechanism, because after the Summit of the Future is concluded, and we hope there is a strong outcome, we can’t just adopt an outcome document and say this is the end of it.

PassBlue: What would you like to see more of in the pact?

Gafoor: I’d like to see more concrete and action-oriented language. We would like to see a higher level of ambition, rather than the lowest common denominator. This will require everyone’s participation.

PassBlue: What about Security Council reform, which is foremost on everyone’s brain, especially in the last few years? Right now, it’s a ghost paragraph in the zero draft, to be determined later.

Gafoor: For any reform process, it is a challenge to have it done overnight. But it’s possible to make small steps and offer directions for the future. I’m not sure that in the next six months, we can agree on the elements of Security Council reform. But we can all agree that this is a very urgent issue.

PassBlue: Accompanying the Pact for the Future, we’re going to see a Global Digital Compact, or GDC, which we won’t see a draft of for another month or two. Can you talk about that?

Gafoor: The GDC will be a political document that should reflect the commitment of countries around the world to agree on a framework for cooperation on digital technologies. Part of that framework must include a strong commitment to cooperate with each other, to protect human rights online and offline and to build digital infrastructure that will reduce the digital divide. The Small States Group is also providing input in the Global Digital Compact. It will be a first document on digital cooperation. It is not going to be a permanent constitution but a first step in this domain.

PassBlue: Can you tell us a bit about the Digital FOSS program and your attempts to bring small states up to speed on digital technologies? What could the UN be doing?

Gafoor: The idea of Digital FOSS is simple. How can we work together to take advantage of digital technologies as smaller countries and accelerate our development journey? When you look at the smallest countries, I think more than half of them are very small islands, developing countries who have many constraints of resources and technical know-how. So, it’s difficult to engage in a discussion on AI. Individually, we can all be superbly aware. But then the question is what do we do as a country? What advice do I give my government to do? Then what should we do at the UN?

So there’s lot of awareness raising about AI. But we also know that we small countries do not have the big tech companies. Where are the big tech companies? They’re all in one country. Do we let them decide what is good for the world? We can. But you may have seen the US congressional hearings. Even in the US, not everyone is happy with big tech running everything. Let alone other countries who do not have these big tech companies. Do we let them run our databases and systems?

PassBlue: What are some of the biggest fears you’re encountering in your discussions on the digital and AI topics as a group?

Gafoor: The biggest fear is also the biggest reality, which is the digital divide, which just threatens to leave many countries behind. Not just the smallest, but even some of the larger developing countries. AI is a powerful tool, and it requires a powerful governance framework.

The thing about the multilateral system is, it won’t happen by itself. Nothing happens by itself. Without action, the system will just atrophy and just deteriorate. That’s the natural order of things. So, there is a need for active intervention, whether it’s UN diplomacy or AI diplomacy or digital diplomacy. If we do not intervene to make a difference, nothing will happen.

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