Daily Multilateralism

Thursday, January 21, 2021

• Reviving health multilateralism: Newly inaugurated President Joseph Biden has rescinded the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the World Health Organization. The letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said the following about the organization:

  The WHO plays a crucial role in the world’s fight against the deadly COVID-19 pandemic as well as countless other threats to global health and health security.  The United States will continue to be a full participant and a global leader in confronting such threats and advancing global health and health security. 

  The administration wasted no time engaging directly with the WHO. Anthony Fauci, now a chief medical officer to the president, joined a video conference with the organization’s executive board:

  Fauci, who is also the United States’ top infectious-disease expert, led the U.S. delegation to the group’s executive board meeting and confirmed Biden’s decision, which includes honoring financial obligations to the cash-strapped health body.

  “I join my fellow representatives in thanking the World Health Organization for its role in leading the global response to this pandemic…Under trying circumstances, this organization has rallied the scientific and research community to accelerate vaccines, therapies and diagnostics.”

  Fauci also indicated that the United States would join COVAX, the international vaccine collaboration.

• UN peacekeepers are in the middle of a deteriorating situation in the Central African Republic:

  The UN peacekeeping mission on Wednesday warned Central African Republic's armed groups were attempting to blockade the capital Bangui as part of their attempt to overthrow re-elected President Faustin Archange Touadera.

  Central African rebels controlling about two thirds of the country launched an offensive a week before the December presidential elections, trying to blockade Bangui and carrying out several attacks on key national highways.

  Several peacekeepers were killed in the country earlier this week, and the UN’s envoy to the country has reportedly called for reinforcements to the mission, which comprises about 14,000 military, police, and civilian personnel. Rwanda, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Egypt are the largest troop contributors.

• The BBC reports on a diplomatic kerfuffle regarding the status of the European Union’s ambassador to the United Kingdom. The key issue appears to be the British decision to treat the EU ambassador as the head of an international organization rather than as the equivalent of a national ambassador:

  The Foreign Office is insisting he and his officials should not have the privileges and immunities afforded to diplomats under the Vienna Convention.

  It is understood not to want to set a precedent by treating an international body in the same way as a nation state.

  As it stands, the ambassador would not have the chance to present his credentials to the Queen like other diplomatic heads of mission.

  The British decision is in marked contrast to 142 other countries around the world where the EU has delegations and where its ambassadors are all granted the same status as diplomats representing sovereign nations.

• Swedish foreign minister Ann Linde took up her role this month as chairperson-in-office of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). Her first visit was to Ukraine, where the OSCE manages a monitoring operation in the country’s eastern provinces:

  Following meetings in Kyiv, Linde visited eastern Ukraine on 20 January to witness the security and humanitarian situation in the conflict-affected areas. She also observed the practical impact of the OSCE Special Monitoring Mission in Ukraine’s (SMM) work on the ground.

  The Chairperson-in-Office noted the significant decrease in the number of recorded ceasefire violations observed by the SMM since the recommitment to ceasefire agreed by the sides in July 2020. “I welcome the lower level of violence. However, lives are still being lost and the everyday life of citizens in this region is still heavily affected.”

• Russia foreign minister Sergei Lavrov has touted his country’s role in managing sometimes fractious relations between India and China. Lavrov also praised the work of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and the BRICS grouping in aiding that bilateral relationship.

• Briefly noted:

  • China’s ambassador to the United Nations indicated that his government supports a second term for Secretary General Antonio Guterres.

  • The UN Security Council received a grim briefing on the humanitarian situation in Syria.

  • The African Union is facilitating pre-orders for the covid-19 vaccine from its member states.

  • Due to the pandemic, the IMF-World Bank annual meetings in April will be virtual.

  • An examination of the international implications of outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s determination that China is committing genocide.

  • NATO’s secretary general congratulated President Biden and urged alliance members “to stand together to address the security consequences of the rise of China, the threat of terrorism, including in Afghanistan and Iraq, and a more assertive Russia.”