The Week in Multilateralism
Friday, July 7, 2023
With apologies for the long silence (occasioned in part by new administrative responsibilities), here are a few of the multilateral developments I’ve been keeping an eye on:
New Life for Security Council Reform?
The intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform wrapped up recently with no signs of a breakthrough. But there still seems to be a bit of new energy behind the long-running effort to change the Council’s membership. Speaking at Chatham House, British foreign minister James Cleverly identified reform as one his country’s top transnational priorities.
With the reform effort registering a pulse, there have been some noteworthy new expert contributions to the debate. The Carnegie Endowment’s Stewart Patrick pulled together an array of global voices on what reform might look like. And writing in Foreign Affairs, Suzanne Nossel argued for the United States to put energy behind the reform process—and for key would-be permanent members to think more flexibly about their Council ambitions.
Seabed Mining Regulations Becalmed
The Jamaica-based International Seabed Authority (ISA) meets next week to consider adopting regulations for commercial seabed mining. The session comes as pressure mounts from some ISA member states—and a vocal coalition of nongovernmental organizations—for a moratorium on commercial mining. Reuters summarizes the state of play:
Plans to extract minerals from the ocean floor are expected to be put on hold next week at a meeting of the U.N. body regulating the sector, with environmental and economic risks threatening to scupper the industry before it begins.
Environmental groups expect next week's meeting of the International Seabed Authority (ISA) in Kingston, Jamaica, to rule out any immediate permission for mining to begin. Countries will also discuss a moratorium later in the month to ensure projects do not go ahead without safeguards.
Meanwhile, the Economist makes an environmental case for getting undersea mining moving.
Another Year for NATO’s Top Official
NATO countries have opted to extend the term of the current Secretary General, Jens Stoltenberg of Norway. Alliance members decided that continuity makes more sense than a leadership transition in the midst of the Ukraine crisis. Several possible successors have been mooted, including British minister Ben Wallace and current European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen, but none has gathered the necessary support. NATO’s top civilian official has always come from western Europe (Italy, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom have provided the most secretaries-general), and the alliance has never had a female leader.
International Law and Cluster Munitions
The United States has decided to ship cluster munitions to Ukraine—despite broad international rejection of the weapons. All European NATO members have either signed or ratified the Convention on Cluster Munitions, but neither the United States nor Ukraine has done so. Article 1 of the Convention lays out its core obligation:
Each State Party undertakes never under any circumstances to: (a) Use cluster munitions; (b) Develop, produce, otherwise acquire, stockpile, retain or transfer to anyone, directly or indirectly, cluster munitions; (c) Assist, encourage or induce anyone to engage in any activity prohibited to a State Party under this Convention.
Germany’s foreign minister expressed opposition to the planned transfer, but it appears that most NATO members will stay relatively quiet.
Briefly Noted:
An International Center for the Prosecution of Aggression opened in The Hague. Housed within the headquarters of Eurojust, it aims to lay the legal and evidentiary groundwork for eventual prosecutions of Russian leaders.
With the South China Sea bubbling, ASEAN foreign ministers are preparing to gather in Jakarta.
The BRICS summit, planned for this August in Johannesburg, is reportedly still a go. It remains unclear if Russian president Vladimir Putin, the subject of an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant, will attend in person.
The ICC prosecutor, Karim Khan, was in Bangladesh this week, hearing from Rohingya who had fled persecution in neighboring Myanmar.
Several countries asked the International Court of Justice to hear a case against Iran for the downing of a civilian jet.
The World Health Organization is hoping to bolster relations with the African Union’s disease-fighting center.
Azerbaijan is still knocking at the door of the World Trade Organization.