Daily Multilateralism

Tuesday, November 10, 2020

• World Health Organization director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has said that he looks forward to working with the Biden administration. In his comments, Dr. Tedros emphasized the importance of more stable and flexible funding for the organization. (A recent post considered some of the particularities of the WHO funding model, including the organization’s acute dependence on voluntary contributions.) An important question for the Biden administration will be how actively to engage in the ongoing discussions about WHO reform. The Washington Post reports:

  It remains unclear…whether the United States will play a central or sideline role in ongoing talks about how to overhaul the WHO and improve its response to emerging threats. So far, France and Germany have taken the lead.

  In terms of international efforts to develop and distribute vaccines, Biden’s team has been less specific, alluding to re-engagement with allies but stopping short of making commitments.

• The often fractious relationship between Argentina and the International Monetary Fund continues to evolve. The Argentine government is reportedly seeking a new extended loan arrangement from the international lender. Negotiations will include the question of when and how the Argentine government will repay billions it already owes to the IMF. Via the Buenos Aires Times:

  The Washington-based crisis lender will send a mission team to meet with officials in Buenos Aires this Tuesday, November 10, to discuss the country's challenges amid the coronavirus pandemic, including debt owed to the Fund. 

  The government is hoping to renegotiate repayments on a US$44-billion loan from the IMF in 2018. The credit line was originally meant to be US$57 billion, but President Alberto Fernández halted disbursements when he took office in December 2019. The first repayments are due in September 2021.

• An international group of elected lawmakers wants the International Criminal Court (ICC) to examine Chinese abuses in Xinxiang, which it argues amounts to genocide. China is not an ICC member, but the group’s legal team argues that Chinese actions to persecute Uyghurs in several ICC member countries can bring China’s actions under the court’s jurisdiction.

• The race for judgeships on the International Court of Justice is heating up, and one important subplot will be China’s effort to keep a national as a judge. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has normally held an ICJ judgeship. However this “P5 privilege” is under strain. In 2017, Britain’s candidate withdrew in favor of a candidate from India with more support. ICJ judges are selected through voting that is normally conducted simultaneously in the UN Security Council and the General Assembly.

• Observers from the Organization of American States reported that they saw no evidence of fraud in the U.S. presidential election. That conclusion echoes the findings of the team from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe.

• The African Union has urged a ceasefire in the Tigray region of Ethiopia, where fighting has developed between federal forces and the authorities in the semi-autonomous region. In a statement, the chairperson of the AU Commission emphasized the organization’s willingness to play a mediating role.

• Briefly noted:

  • The European Union is on the brink of imposing trade sanctions on the United States.

  • The United States presented a report on its human rights record as part of the UN Human Rights Council’s regular review process.

  • NATO’s Secretary General offered words of caution about the new treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons.