Daily Multilateralism
Monday, January 4, 2021
A Nigerian government official has blasted the International Criminal Court after its chief prosecutor recommended a full investigation of alleged crimes in the country:
The ICC is acting like “another ‘fighting force’ against Nigeria, constantly harassing our security forces and threatening them with investigation and possible prosecution,” Information Minister Lai Mohammed said in a statement emailed Jan. 4. Bensouda’s actions are an “unbridled attempt to demoralize our security men and women as they confront the onslaught from bandits and terrorists,” he said…
“Nigeria did not join the ICC so it can become a pawn on the court’s chessboard,” Mohammed said. “It beggars belief to see that a nation that is fighting an existential war against bandits and terrorists is constantly being held down by an international body which it willingly joined.”
In December, the ICC prosecutor’s office determined that the conditions are met for a full investigation of alleged crimes by both insurgents and certain government security forces. (Because there has been no state or UN Security Council referral of the situation to the court, a panel of ICC judges would need to approve a full investigation.) Nigeria has generally been a supporter of the ICC, even in the face of pressure from several African governments for a large-scale withdrawal from the institution.
The world is remembering Brian Urquhart, an influential figure in the early years of the United Nations:
Urquhart, born in Bridport, England in 1919, served in British military and intelligence during World War II before becoming the second official hired by the U.N. after its formation in 1945. He went on to be a principal adviser to the first five U.N. secretary-generals.
Urquhart worked for the commission that set up the United Nations Secretariat in 1945, arranged the General Assembly’s first meeting in London and settled on New York City as the U.N.'s permanent home. But he was best known for creating and directing U.N. peacekeeping operations in war zones around the world.
Urquhart also wrote influential books on the organization’s work, including biographies of the organization’s second Secretary General, Dag Hammarskjold, and of the Nobel Prize-winning mediator Ralph Bunche.
The director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, Rafael Grossi, is preparing to brief member countries on Iran’s moves to increase its uranium enrichment levels. In an interview several weeks ago, Grossi insisted that some kind of new agreement would be needed to reverse Tehran’s enrichment moves. Those comments prompted objections from Iranian officials, who argued that Grossi was exceeding his mandate.
The European Commission is defending itself against charges that it has botched the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines:
As part of its strategy, the EU has sealed six vaccines contracts, with Moderna, AstraZeneca, Sanofi-GSK, Janssen Pharmaceutica NV, Pfizer-BioNTech and CureVac. But only the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine has been approved for use so far in the 27-nation bloc.
The European Medicines Agency said its human medicines committee, CHMP, was meeting Monday “to discuss the Moderna vaccine.” The Amsterdam-based agency had been scheduled to discuss authorizing the U.S. company’s vaccine for use in the EU on Wednesday.
The Irish Times offered the government some advice on what to do with its two-year stint on the United Nations Security Council:
[S]ecurity council membership will give Ireland a louder voice on the world stage, and that opportunity should be used to speak up on issues that the country cares about. Whether it is in defence of Palestinian rights or in anger at global inaction on the climate crisis, the Government has a duty to make that voice heard.
Ireland joins India, Kenya, Mexico, and Norway as new Council members. Tunisia holds the Council’s rotating presidency in January and plans high-level events on terrorism and on cooperation between the Council and the League of Arab States.
Briefly noted:
African Union-led negotiations on the controversial Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam have resumed.
The BBC captures images of a nighttime peacekeeping patrol in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
Observers, including from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization, prepare to monitor elections in Kazakhstan.