Key issues and possible solutions for the upcoming UN Summit of the Future were discussed at the Bled Strategic Forum on 3 September with participants listing inequality, impunity and population ageing as some of the main things to address. They also pointed out that a breakthrough might not actually be possible at the moment.

The debate featured panellists from various fields and covered a broad spectrum of issues, from demographic change, justice and the perspective of the Global South, to how successful a global summit can actually be.

For Africa, one of the main issues to tackle at the Summit of the Future, to be held in just three weeks, is inequality and representation, especially on the Security Council, according to Ahmed Abdel-Latif, director general of the Cairo International Center for Conflict Resolution, Peacekeeping and Peacebuilding.

He believes that double standards are eroding the international system, but was heartened by remarks in Bled by Slovenian Prime Minister Robert Golob and Foreign Minister Tanja Fajon, who both underlined the need for adherence to international law.

Päivi Kaukoranta, president of the Assembly of States Parties at the International Criminal Court, pointed to the need to protect future generations from war and the need to combat impunity and strengthen accountability.

Kristijan Fidanovski, doctoral researcher in population ageing at the University of Oxford, believes that population ageing should be a key issue at the conference, albeit maybe not yet the main one.

Specialising in Central and Eastern Europe, he said that the region was a double loser in terms of demographic changes, losing natives who are moving away to build a better life elsewhere, while also not attracting migrants to prop up its workforce.

Meanwhile, Slovenia's former President Danilo Türk, a seasoned UN diplomat who serves as the head of Club de Madrid and is on the UN High-Level Advisory Board on Effective Multilateralism, pointed out that the political realities at this point in time might not allow for breakthroughs.

Nevertheless, such events are vital, providing a framework for leaders and a chance to discuss possible solutions, leading to changes later on, Türk suggested.

Leaders are not seen as being able to take the needed steps for change at the moment, said Türk, adding that lack of leadership was a problem in meeting sustainability goals.

In Africa, countries find it problematic that the sustainability goals are drafted by the UN but the means for implementation are in the hands of other institutions, said Abdel-Latif.

Another significant hindrance is the current era of conflicts that the international community is not equipped to deal with it. It is clear that peace and development are dependent on each other, but the UN has struggled for decades to make it work in practice, he said.

Moderated by Manas Chawla, the CEO and founder of London Politica, the panel also touched on the rise of the far right, with Türk underlining the need to address this with country-specific solutions, as reasons for dissatisfaction among voters stem from country-specific problems.

He underlined that democracies need to deliver. At the moment they are failing and people are growing dissatisfied.

Fidanovski pointed out that the two German states where far-right parties have been very successful in state elections this weekend have the lowest share of immigrants and are not profiting from their labour, therefore suffering in terms of demographic issues.

He noted that the German economy on the whole has been underperforming recently, leading to dissatisfaction.

Commenting on the rise of the far right, Abdel-Latif pointed to the weaponisation of identity by political and other forces. Once identity in implicated, this makes conflict resolution even more complex, he said.