The closing session of the conference, which precedes the Future Summit in New York in September, was attended by UN Secretary-General António Guterres and Kenyan President William Ruto.

Guterres said that in the international system, "civil society is often marginalized", although he praised its role in the search for peace and justice.

"I see you feeding the hungry, speaking truth to power, promoting gender equality and advancing sustainable development," Guterres said.

The UN Secretary-General also called in his speech to "put disarmament back at the center of the international agenda and act with urgency to create a world free of nuclear weapons".

In the press conference that preceded the closing session, the Secretary-General also referred to the situation in Gaza, warning that Israel's ground invasion of the Palestinian city of Rafah could lead to "an epic humanitarian disaster", after ceasefire negotiations in Cairo failed this week.

Ruto, for his part, argued that progress "cannot be the preserve of managers or those who monopolize power".

The Kenyan president said he was "committed" to creating a platform to address "the challenges of cohesion and inequality" in his country, as well as to making regulatory reforms that favor associativism, in order to achieve sustainable development.

Although he focused his speech on his country, the Kenyan leader defended multilateralism, one of the concepts most evoked during the conference, because, he argued, "in an interconnected world, no nation can face these challenges in isolation and expect to succeed".

The closing session was opened by UN Under-Secretary-General for Global Communications Melissa Fleming, who admitted that "the inspiration of civil society has always been crucial to the work of the UN".

"I heard a very beautiful word (during the Conference): solidarity. Today, more than ever, we need it", she stressed.

The co-founder of the Pan-African Alliance for Climate Justice, Mithika Mwenda, said that "global and sustainable progress is not just a call to action, but a beacon of hope, a promise".

The co-chair of the Civil Society Conference, Carole Ageng'o, said that since the start of the talks on Thursday, participants have embarked "on intense discussions for a more inclusive, sustainable and safe future for all".

Over two days, about 2,500 representatives of governments, civil society organizations, think tanks and others participated in dozens of seminars and meetings focused on the importance of civil society in building a sustainable future.

The conference served as a starting point for the talks of dozens of "impact coalitions", which will materialize their actions at the Future Summit, on September 22 and 23 in New York, where the Pact for the Future will be enacted.

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