Daily Multilateralism
Tuesday, October 20, 2020
Consensus on the Council: The United Nations Security Council deliberated about the conflict in Nagorno-Karabakh. France, Russia, and the United States jointly requested the meeting, which was behind closed doors but appeared to feature broad agreement on the importance of achieving a ceasefire. Via Agence France Presse:
“Everyone was saying the same thing: the situation is bad and both sides need to pull back and heed the Secretary-General's calls for a ceasefire,” a UN diplomat told AFP.
Russia, which currently holds the council's rotating presidency, is working on a statement that would call for adherence to the ceasefire, diplomats say.
The text -- which is expected to be agreed between council members this week -- will also call on Armenia and Azerbaijan to resume negotiations facilitated by the Minsk Group.
The Minsk Group formed in the early 1990s under the auspices of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) but has had little success in generating a lasting solution to the conflict.
Quad exercises: Australia intends to join planned naval exercises with India, Japan, and the United States.
India, which holds the annual drills called Malabar with the U.S. and Japanese navies each year, agreed to invite Australia for next month’s exercise in the Bay of Bengal, it said, in a sign of cooperation between the “Quad” countries.
A defiant Philippine president Rodrigo Duterte insisted that he should be held responsible for any killings associated with the country’s war on drugs. In 2019, the Philippines formally withdrew from the International Criminal Court, but the ICC prosecutor’s office is still conducting a preliminary examination of possible crimes in the country:
[I]t has been alleged that since 1 July 2016, thousands of persons have been killed for reasons related to their alleged involvement in illegal drug use or dealing. While some of such killings have reportedly occurred in the context of clashes between or within gangs, it is alleged that many of the reported incidents involved extra-judicial killings in the course of police anti-drug operations.
Brazil’s economy minister declared that his country is well on the way to joining the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, often described as the “rich country club.” The OECD has 37 members but it has also created a partnership program to facilitate linkages with prospective members and other countries. In 2017, the OECD adopted a framework to elaborate on the criteria for considering new members.
The African Union and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) have concluded that Guinea’s recent elections were conducted properly. Violence broke out in the capital after the opposition party leader claimed victory. Working together with the AU and the United Nations, ECOWAS dispatched more than 100 observers to monitor the elections.
Greece and Albania have agreed to submit a maritime boundary dispute to the International Court of Justice (ICJ). The agreement comes against the backdrop of increasing tensions between Greece and Turkey over rights in the eastern Mediterranean.
Very briefly noted:
Notables line up behind Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala’s candidacy to lead the World Trade Organization.
Iran’s government celebrated the expiration of the United Nations arms embargo imposed on the country.
Greece wants the European Union to reconsider its customs agreement with Turkey.
East Africa is on the cusp of operationalizing a new free trade area.
NATO is building up its infrastructure for monitoring space activities.