The Stimson Center, Doha Forum, and Global Institute for Strategic Research (GISR) released the third edition of their Future of International Cooperation Report, which focuses on how institutions and the practice of governance at global and regional levels can support more just societies. It calls for protecting human rights, fostering inclusion, and leveraging innovation to bridge long-standing divisions.
Themed, ‘Justice in Action: Beyond Promises to Progress,’ the report warns that “[w]ithout bold and decisive action, acute injustices within and between countries risk undermining global stability and collective progress.” It outlines challenges, threats, and opportunities for “justice in action.” These, it argues, can “be found in reforming political-judicial institutions, filling socioeconomic justice gaps, and advancing environmental justice.”
The report looks to the Second World Summit for Social Development in November, the 2024 Summit of the Future (SoF), and the recent Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) as sources of “unique roadmaps” for tackling the structural causes of injustice such as political and social exclusion, judicial corruption, extreme poverty and inequality, violence and insecurity, and an uninhabitable environment.
To make global governance more effective and inclusive in promoting and safeguarding justice for present and future generations, the report recommends:
- Expanding the reach of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and the International Criminal Court (ICC) through political support, compromissory clauses, and advisory opinions;
- Bolstering economic, social, and cultural rights through UN Human Rights Council innovations; and
- Establishing a UN Climate Change Council.
Regional recommendations include:
- Prioritizing issue-specific judicial competencies and training for regional human rights courts;
- Promoting pooled regional investment funds through regional development banks; and
- Strengthening compliance mechanisms in regional environmental agreements.
The report underscores that “[b]y placing a spotlight on the global and regional collective action needed to bridge and overcome the stark justice gap found today within and between many countries, a more just – as well as safer, more prosperous, and sustainable – future for all can be realized.”
The report was launched on 16 September 2025, ahead of the High-Level Week of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA). [Publication: Future of International Cooperation Report 2025: Justice in Action: Beyond Promises to Progress] [Executive Summary] [Publication Landing Page] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on Stimson Global Governance Innovation Report 2025]