Morning Multilateralism

Thursday, May 21 2020

• The World Bank names a new chief economist, Harvard University professor Carmen Reinhart.

• With the “the world’s attention…on the United Nations as never before,” the organization releases its proposed budget for 2021.

• As the UN Security Council mulls the situation in the Middle East, the European members of the Council urge Israel to “refrain from any unilateral decision that would lead to the annexation of any occupied Palestinian territory.”

• Help wanted: the World Trade Organization gets ready to accept nominations for a new Director General.

• Time is running out for Myanmar to provide evidence to the International Court of Justice that it is protecting the Rohingya.

• In a new report, activists urge a moratorium on seabed mining, calling on the International Seabed Authority to pause before approving new mining regulations.

• The military staffs of NATO and European Union parley about defense cooperation and the impact of Covid-19.

• Bipolar news: Norway ratifies 2018 treaty on fishing in the central Arctic Ocean while the European Union signals support for new “marine protected areas” in Antarctica.