Daily Multilateralism

Friday, December 11, 2020

• True to form, the European Union has patched together a last-minute compromise with Hungary and Poland that will allow its stalled budget process to move forward. The disputed “rule of law” provision—which conditions some EU monies on respect for democratic norms—remains in the final package but with several new procedural restrictions in place (including, reportedly, a role for the European Court of Justice). At the same time, the EU’s members struck a deal on greenhouse gas emissions that will pledge the bloc to reduce emissions more than 50 percent (from 1990 levels).

• The International Criminal Court is wrapping up its longstanding examination of the situation in Nigeria. That examination was announced in 2010 and has moved through several phases in the last decade. As it analyzed the situation, the prosecutor’s office made clear that it was focused largely on alleged crimes committed by Boko Haram militants. But the prosecutor also identified alleged abuses by Nigerian security forces that merited investigation.

  In announcing the closure of the examination, ICC prosecutor Fatou Bensouda explained that the situation meets all the criteria for a full investigation but she left unclear when her office would request authorization from the court’s judges to launch an investigation. (Judicial authorization would be required in this case because neither the UN Security Council nor a national government has referred the situation to the court). Bensouda described a court working under significant operational and budget constraints:

  [I]n the immediate period ahead, we will need to take several strategic and operational decisions on the prioritisation of the Office’s workload, which also duly take into account the legitimate expectations of victims and affected communities as well as other stakeholders. This is a matter that I will also  discuss with the incoming Prosecutor, once elected, as part of the transition discussions I intend to have.

• Writing in Just Security, Oona Hathaway and Alasdair Phillips-Robins examine possible reforms to the World Health Organization and note that the vaccine phase may be an opportunity for the organization to bolster its reputation. They see particular promise in the COVAX alliance that the WHO is facilitating:

  COVAX is a good reminder that the WHO remains one of the few international forums able to coordinate more than 100 countries around a single goal. Should it succeed in distributing a vaccine widely, it will play a major role in ending the pandemic. That would be a signal achievement of multilateralism, a stark contrast with the world’s failure to work together when COVID-19 first appeared, and a model for how the WHO can and should operate in the future.

• The members of the World Trade Organization have deferred a decision on whether to waive international intellectual property protections for covid-19 treatments and vaccines. India and South Africa had proposed the waiver, but their request met strong resistance from countries that are home to major pharmaceutical companies, including the Switzerland and the United States.

• The Secretary General of ASEAN offered Vietnam a pat on the back for its leadership of the organization during a turbulent year. He commended Hanoi in particular for helping the bloc finalize negotiations on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. Brunei takes over as the ASEAN chair for 2021.

• Luxembourg wants a seat on the UN Human Rights Council. A stint on the 47-member body would be a first for the country. Luxembourg will compete in General Assembly elections that will be held in October 2021 for a term that would begin in 2022.

• Briefly noted:

  • The World Food Program has officially received the 2020 Nobel Peace Prize.

  • Iranian officials are criticizing the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) for overstepping the organization’s mandate. Meanwhile, authorities in Finland informed the international nuclear watchdog about a radiation spike at a reactor.

  • France secures a victory at the International Court of Justice.

  • Rwanda puts forward a candidate for a top African Union position.

  • Several UN Security Council members, including the United States, plan to raise human rights concerns when the Council meets privately to discuss the situation in North Korea.

  • The European Union moves closer to imposing sanctions on Turkish nationals for drilling activities in disputed Mediterranean waters.