The Rights of People Not Yet Born
Why Has the International Community Begun Talking About “Justice for Future Generations”?
“I feel like no matter how hard I try, the future keeps disappearing.”
It is the weary sigh of a university student under the late-night lights of a library.
Employment feels uncertain.
The climate crisis is becoming more severe.
Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing the world.
Wars and conflicts continue across the globe.
In this age of anxiety, we often miss one important question:
“Who will pay the cost of the things we enjoy today?”
Justice Was Originally a Question for the Present Generation
The ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle described justice this way:
“Justice is giving each his due.”
For a long time, as this explanation suggests, “justice” was understood as a matter concerning people living in the same era.
It was about who holds more wealth, who exercises power, and who receives opportunities.
But the world has now begun to ask a slightly different question.
Whose summer will today’s carbon emissions change?
Whose taxes will today’s national debt increase?
Whose life will be shaken if today’s AI regulations are not properly designed?
What these questions have in common is this:
the costs of the benefits enjoyed by the present generation may be passed on to future generations.
And it is precisely here that the international community has begun to rethink the meaning of “justice.”
This is the idea of intergenerational justice.
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Why Did the United Nations Begin Declaring the Rights of Future Generations?
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What place do future generations have in the decisions we are making today?”
In 2024, the United Nations began to answer this question directly.
That answer was the Pact for the Future.
This document is not merely a declaration.
It marks the moment when the international community began, for the first time, to translate the interests of future generations into the language of present-day policy.
One sentence in particular captures the core of this declaration:
“We will integrate the needs and interests of future generations into decision-making processes.”
It is a promise to incorporate the needs and interests of future generations into policy decision-making.
Why does this matter?
Until now, most political systems have been designed around “people who are alive today.”
Elections operate on four-year cycles, politicians think about the next election, and companies focus on the next quarter’s results.
But the timeline of the climate crisis is completely different.
It is a question of 50 years from now, even 100 years from now. Sea-level rise and ecological collapse do not arrive according to election schedules.
That is why the international community is now recognizing that it is difficult to protect the future through present-centered politics alone.
《Young People Are No Longer Just “Subjects of Protection”》
The Pact for the Future includes a chapter on youth and future generations, Chapter IV: Youth and Future Generations.
In this chapter, young people appear not merely as subjects to be protected, but as political actors who must help design the future.
To make this commitment more concrete, the United Nations adopted a separate document called the Declaration on Future Generations.
In this declaration, there is one sentence that deserves particular attention in relation to the idea of intergenerational justice:
“We recognize that the decisions, actions and inactions of the present generation have an impact on future generations.”
This means that not only the decisions and actions of the present generation, but even its inaction, affects future generations.
Knowing about the climate crisis, yet responding too late.
Knowing about inequality, yet leaving it unaddressed.
Knowing about technological risks, yet failing to create rules.
In the end, the cost of that inaction is passed on to future generations.
People who have not yet been born cannot vote.
They cannot speak in parliament. They cannot attend international conferences.
And yet, the decisions made today will affect their lives for the longest time.
《Future Generations Are Becoming a New Standard in International Politics》
Recently, the international community has begun to consider new institutions.
Wales operates a Future Generations Commissioner, and Finland has a Committee for the Future within its parliament.
The United Nations makes this commitment:
“We commit to promoting intergenerational solidarity, justice and equity.”
It is a declaration to promote solidarity, justice, and equity between generations.
This concept does not stop at climate issues alone.
• Who is passing the cost of the climate crisis into the future?
• How much is national debt narrowing the choices of future generations?
• Who is making the rules for AI?
• How much does today’s war threaten tomorrow’s peace?
• How much do current systems exclude the voices of future generations?
UN Pact for the Future (2024) — Key Principles Related to Future Generations 1. Integrating the Interests of Future Generations into Decision-Making Current policies should consider not only short-term outcomes, but also their impact on the lives of future generations. “We will integrate the needs and interests of future generations into decision-making processes.” 2. Expanding the Participation of Future Generations Participation structures should be strengthened so that youth and future generations can take part in policy processes. “Enhance the meaningful participation of youth and future generations.” 3. Establishing Institutional Mechanisms for Future Generations Rather than treating this as a one-time discussion, institutional mechanisms should be strengthened so that the perspectives of future generations can be continuously reflected. “Strengthen institutional mechanisms to represent future generations.” Source: United Nations, Pact for the Future (2024) Declaration on Future Generations |
To learn more about global climate policy, take a look at the following article. ⇊ What is the IPCC(Intergovernmental Panel on Climate |
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Why Intergenerational Justice Matters Now
Climate, Artificial Intelligence, and the International Order
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The reason intergenerational justice matters now is that we are making choices, all at once, that may be difficult to reverse.
At the center of this are three major transformations:
the climate crisis, artificial intelligence, and the international order.
1. The Climate Crisis: Costs Deferred into the Future
Climate change is one of the clearest examples of intergenerational justice.
The global average temperature has already risen by about 1.1°C compared to pre-industrial levels. Sea-level rise, food insecurity, and ecosystem collapse are likely to become even more severe in the future than they are today.
We are already experiencing the effects of global warming, but the greatest costs still lie ahead.
That is why the climate crisis is not simply an environmental issue, but a question of inequality being passed on to the next generation.
2. Artificial Intelligence: Are We Creating the Future’s “Invisible Constitution”?
AI is not simply a technology. It is a tool that rewrites the rules of society itself.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres once said:
“Artificial intelligence could be as transformative as the invention of the printing press.”
This means that AI could fundamentally transform society as much as the printing press once did.
The problem is speed.
Technology is advancing rapidly, but the standards and ethics needed to govern it have not yet been sufficiently established.
AI is already changing society as a whole. The way students complete assignments is changing, and the job market is being rapidly reshaped. Anxiety is also growing that many jobs may disappear.
The algorithms, data rules, and accountability structures we create today are likely to become the basic order of society for decades to come.
In the end, the question is this:
“Are we now creating the ‘invisible constitution’ under which future generations will live?”
3. The International Order: The Structure of the World Future Generations Will Inherit
Since the end of World War II, the international community has built an order centered on the United Nations and grounded in international law and norms.
It was not perfect, but it served as a minimum framework for reducing war and enabling cooperation.
But in recent years, the international order has been shaken significantly.
The international affairs journal Foreign Affairs describes the situation this way:
“The rules-based international order is under unprecedented strain.”
This means that the logic of power is once again moving to the forefront, ahead of rules.
The international order is a public good accumulated over many generations.
And when this order weakens, those who will feel its effects for the longest time are future generations.
War and conflict, refugee crises, and the collapse of international cooperation will ultimately reshape the stability of the world in which the next generation must live.
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The Future Has Not Yet Been Decided
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So what can we do?
It is not about becoming a grand hero.
It is about becoming a citizen who thinks about the future.
Studying climate issues.
Reading policies critically.
Understanding the direction of the international community.
Refusing to give up on dialogue between generations.
These small actions eventually change the direction of society.
Perhaps intergenerational justice is, at its core, an attitude of imagining the lives of people we have not yet met.
“Is the society we are building today fair to those who have not yet been born?”
The international community has now begun to say that this question can no longer be postponed.
And the people who will have to stand with this question the longest will probably be today’s young generation.
Written by Sharon Choi
Director of Planning
Sunhak Peace Prize Secretariat
Further Reading : |
References & Sources Constitutional Climate Litigation (South Korea) • Constitutional Court of Korea. Decision on the Framework Act on Carbon Neutrality and Green Growth (Constitutional Nonconformity), August 29, 2024 — Official ruling and summary Human Rights Assessment • Human Rights Watch. South Korea: Landmark Climate Ruling Protects Future Generations, 2024 Environmental Citizenship Framework • European Network for Environmental Citizenship (ENEC). Environmental Citizenship Framework Individual Action & Emissions Reduction • UNEP • United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). Emissions Gap Report 2023— Mitigation potential of individual and demand-side actions https://www.unep.org/resources/emissions-gap-report-2023 Cities & Citizen Participation • UN-Habitat. Urban Resilience Report 2022— Participatory urban climate resilience https://unhabitat.org/urban-resilience-report-2022 • The Times of India. Delhi forms Alliance for City Transformation to tackle heatwaves • Le Monde. In Lyon, “cool islands” offer a response to heatwaves Youth Participation in Climate Policy • European Commission. Eurobarometer Survey 2023— Youth engagement in climate-related protests, debates, and petitions https://europa.eu/eurobarometer/surveys/detail/3392 Environmental Governance • OECD. Environmental Governance: Civic Engagement and Climate Policy Performance https://www.oecd.org/environment/environmental-governance/ Climate Justice & Inequality • United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Human Development Report 2023/24: Breaking the Gridlock – Reimagining Cooperation in a Polarized World Disaster Risk & Climate Impacts • United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). Global Assessment Report 2023 Gender & Climate Vulnerability • UN Women. Gender, Climate and Disaster Risk Reduction, 2022 Corporate Accountability & Environmental Monitoring • Global Forest Watch. Forest Loss and Illegal Deforestation Data and Reports, 2023 https://www.globalforestwatch.org Environment, Human Rights & Peace • United Nations General Assembly. Resolution A/RES/76/300: The Human Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment, 2022 https://digitallibrary.un.org/record/3983329?v=pdf |