Davos 2022 was a missed opportunity over globalisation
1/6/2022: The world's poorest countries are bearing the brunt of globalisation’s failures - food and energy price inflation, and an intellectual property regime that left billions without Covid-19 vaccines. The recent meeting of the World Economic Forum, the traditional champion of globalisation, failed to engage in soul-searching about how and why things have gone so wrong.
Source: The Guardian
China, Russia veto more UN sanctions on North Korea
27/5/2022: The veto by China and Russia on a US-led sanctions response to renewed ballistic missile launches has split the UN Security Council for the first time since it started punishing Pyongyang in 2006. The UN General Assembly will now discuss North Korea under a new rule effective whenever a veto is cast in the Security Council.
Source: CNA
World stumbling into a new era of risk
23/5/2022: World leaders are failing to prepare for a new era of complex and often unpredictable risks to peace as profound environmental and security crises converge. A new report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute argues that cooperation is essential for managing the environmental and security crises, along with the risks they create.
Source: Stockholm International Peace Research Institute
Rescuing global goals is world’s highest common priority
17/5/2022: UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that the repercussions of the COVID pandemic and the Ukraine war have put the drive towards the Sustainable Development Goals into reverse. He said that the developing world has been left to fend for itself “in a global financial system that favours the richest and punishes the poorest”.
Source: UN News
The time to support the global South is now
13/5/2022: No region of the world benefits from the rules-based multilateral order as much as the European Union. The abstentions of some developing and emerging countries in the vote on the Ukraine resolution in the UN General Assembly in early March was a warning signal that continuing a strong global engagement is essential for Europe.
Source: Inter Press Service
US-ASEAN summit can kickstart stalled approach to Myanmar
12/5/2022: The Biden administration should spotlight human rights violations in Myanmar during the US summit with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. The Five-Point Consensus facilitated by ASEAN in April 2021 has failed to curtail Myanmar's military oppression.
Source: Amnesty International
This is the moment to reset our multilateral institutions
28/4/2022: In the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, The UN has warned that over 100 countries face risks relating to food, energy, and finance. Mark Malloch-Brown argues that the world’s most prosperous countries must use this moment to transform our multilateral institutions.
Source: Devex
UN General Assembly will scrutinise any Security Council veto
26/4/2022: The UN General Assembly has resolved that any future veto by one of the five permanent members of the Security Council will trigger a meeting at which all member countries can examine such action. This responds to Russia’s use of the veto on the day after it invaded Ukraine.
Source: UN News
Anachronistic UN veto powers under fresh scrutiny
22/4/2022: A proposed new resolution before the UN General Assembly will attempt to undermine the veto of the five permanent members of the Security Council. Abuse of the veto mechanism has long been the subject of institutional debate and the motion is likely to be supported by a majority of the 193 member states.
Source: Inter Press Service
Making the most of the 2023 UN Summit of the Future
20/4/2022: A once-in-a-generation opportunity to review and dramatically improve global tools for managing the world's enormous challenges — a Summit of the Future — is under serious consideration for September 2023 by the UN's 193 member states. Consultations with civil society representatives will inform preparatory work during the next 18 months.
Source: PassBlue