The International Science Council (ISC) and its member organizations have published an open letter addressed to the candidates for the next Secretary-General of the United Nations, calling for science to be recognized as a central pillar of the multilateral system and global decision-making.

The letter argues that addressing today’s interconnected challenges—from climate change and emerging technologies to inequality and sustainable development—requires stronger institutional mechanisms to ensure that scientific knowledge informs policy at the international level. It also highlights the importance of social sciences, equitable access to knowledge, and international scientific cooperation.

As a member of the International Science Council, IUPAP contributed to the drafting of the letter and supports its call for a stronger integration of science into global governance.

 

Dear candidates,

The next Secretary-General will take office at a moment of acute tension between the scale of global challenges and the fragility of multilateral cooperation. Meeting that challenge will require more than diplomatic skill. It will depend on the UN’s ability to systematically and proactively mobilize diverse forms of knowledge across its full range of priorities, from the climate crisis and rising inequality to the governance of emerging technologies.

The International Science Council and its 250 member organizations across the natural and social sciences therefore call upon the next United Nations Secretary-General to position science as a central pillar of global governance.

The UN has demonstrated what is possible when science and multilateralism work in concert. The IPCC remains one of the most consequential science-policy interfaces ever built. The revitalized Secretary-General’s Scientific Advisory Board has more recently proven effective in advancing shared understanding among UN leadership. Yet scientific knowledge remains too often an ad hoc input to decision-making, and access to scientific expertise remains uneven across Member States.

These gaps are widening at precisely the moment when global challenges demand deeper scientific cooperation, as governments increasingly view international collaboration through a security lens, treating shared knowledge as a strategic liability rather than an asset. In this environment, the UN’s role as a trusted forum where scientific cooperation transcends geopolitical divides becomes all the more vital — and partnership between the UN and the global scientific community can, and must, run deeper.

The ISC sees at least three fronts on which the next Secretary-General can act decisively to embed science more deeply in the UN system:

Firstly, strengthen the pathways through which scientific knowledge informs decision-making at the international level. Millions of scientists, thousands of Indigenous knowledge systems, and emerging forms of citizen science collectively represent a vast, underutilized body of knowledge. What is lacking are effective, institutionalized mechanisms to make that knowledge accessible and actionable for all Member States. This means reforming existing permanent and ad hoc UN advisory mechanisms and designing new ones to build the science-policy interfaces that can translate knowledge and research into coordinated global action.

Secondly, place the social sciences at the heart of the UN’s effort to understand, anticipate and respond to change. These disciplines are indispensable to understanding the societal and ethical implications of technologies and innovations that are reshaping societies faster than institutions can adapt. We cannot afford to deploy them without the ethical reflection and strategic foresight needed to anticipate both their benefits and the dual use risks they may create. Ensuring that international oversight frameworks keep pace with these developments is one of the most consequential responsibilities the next Secretary-General will inherit.

Thirdly, champion fair and equitable access to knowledge as a concrete expression of the UN’s founding promise. Knowledge is one of the few resources that grows in value when shared – yet the capacity to produce knowledge and contribute to global decision-making remains profoundly unequal. To enable strong evidence-based decision-making it is essential that low- and middle-income countries have equitable access to scientific knowledge, opportunities to disseminate the knowledge they generate, and meaningful pathways to contribute their expertise to global policy discussions. The right to participate in and benefit from scientific progress is recognized internationally as a human right. Realizing this right requires safeguarding scientific freedom and fostering an environment in which scientists can collaborate, communicate and exchange knowledge across borders.

Some of the greatest achievements of recent decades have come from scientists and policymakers acting with shared purpose: the eradication of smallpox, the phase-out of ozone-depleting substances and the mapping of the human genome. These were not accidents; they were the product of sustained institutional commitment to science as a global commons. That commitment continues to enjoy broad public support. Citizens across 68 countries report high levels of trust in scientists and want them to be more involved in shaping policy. This is a foundation the next Secretary-General should build on.

With the UN80 reform process underway and attention turning to the post-2030 development agenda, a new mandate offers a real opportunity to institutionalize science as a permanent feature of UN action — not only as a resource summoned in emergencies, but a standing infrastructure for the collective intelligence the world’s challenges demand.

As the world’s largest organization bringing together scientific unions, academies and research communities across disciplines and regions, the International Science Council stands ready to support the next Secretary-General and to serve as a trusted partner between the UN system and the global scientific community in building the renewed multilateral cooperation we all rely on.