The Week in Multilateralism
Friday, April 16, 2021
Global Trade, Vaccines, and Waivers
The World Trade Organization held a high-level session this week on global vaccine inequity that included national representatives, vaccine producers, and an array of international organization officials. While the discussions ranged far and wide, the contentious question of potential intellectual property waivers for covid-19 vaccines and treatments hovered over the proceeding.
As the session unfolded, the international campaign for a waiver got a boost in the form of a letter from more than 150 Nobel laureates and former national leaders and a separate letter of support from eight U.S. senators. Without explicitly endorsing the waiver concept, WTO director general Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala urged diplomats to move forward with negotiations on the issue:
Various perspectives about the TRIPS Agreement, and whether the existing flexibilities are enough to address developing country needs were put on the table. These echoed the discussions on the waiver proposal going on in the TRIPS Council, and I want to reiterate that today is a way of contributing to that discussion.
I agree with the view that the WTO is a logical forum for finding a way forward on these issues, and I hope that the ideas raised here will contribute to convergence in the TRIPS Council on meaningful results that can contribute to the goals that we have.
The Council that Okonjo-Iweala referenced is a standing body within the broader WTO designed to consider implementation of the TRIPS Agreement. The Council is currently chaired by veteran Norwegian diplomat Dagfinn Sørli. It’s worth noting that Norway has not been supportive of an IP waiver and expressed concern last year that implementing one might reduce incentives for pharmaceutical innovation.
The United Kingdom and the Court
The reverberations from the International Criminal Court’s new Palestine investigation continue. Responding to a pro-Israel members of parliament, British prime minister Boris Johnson argued in a recent letter that the ICC investigation in Palestine “gives the impression of being a partial and prejudicial attack on a friend and ally of the UK’s.” In the letter, Johnson also cited the fact that the next prosecutor will be a British national and that a British national has been elected to an ICC judgeship. The prime minister’s comments generated a strong reaction, including from Palestine’s mission in the United Kingdom:
It is clear that the UK now believes Israel is above the law. There is no other interpretation of a statement that gives carte blanche to Israel to continue its illegal settlement project in occupied territory, and signals to Israel that no matter its actions vis-à-vis the Palestinian people in occupied territory, it will not be held to account.
For its part, the advocacy group Human Rights Watch called Johnson’s comments a “brazen assault on ICC independence.” The prime minister’s ICC intervention came as proposed British legislation governing UK forces abroad faced criticism from UN human rights officials.
NATO Out of Afghanistan
The Western military alliance will follow the United States to the exits in Afghanistan. The Associated Press reported on the decision:
NATO chief Jens Stoltenberg says the alliance has agreed to withdraw its roughly 7,000 non-American forces from Afghanistan to match U.S. President Joe Biden’s decision to pull all American troops from the country starting on May 1.
Stoltenberg said the full withdrawal would be completed “within a few months” but did not mention the 20th anniversary of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks set as a goal by Biden. There are between 7,000 and 7,500 non-U.S. NATO troops currently in Afghanistan. The U.S. troop presence stands at roughly 2,000.
NATO’s current mission in Afghanistan involves more than thirty member countries and others, with Georgia, Germany, Italy, Turkey, and the United Kingdom among the largest contributors. Ukraine, which has recently reiterated its desire for full NATO membership, contributes ten personnel.
Chemical Weapons Watchdog Blames Syria; Russia Criticizes Watchdog
The Hague-based Organization for the Prevention of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) has found strong evidence that the Syrian government was likely responsible for a 2018 chemical weapons attack in the country. The Associated Press provided context:
It is the second time that the OPCW’s Investigation and Identification Team has concluded that Syrian government armed forces likely were responsible for a gas attack. Last year, the team also found reasonable grounds to believe that the Syrian Arab Air Force was responsible for attacks using chlorine and the nerve agent sarin in March 2017 in the town of Latamneh.
That conclusion generated strong reactions from the Russian government, which organized a side meeting at the UN Security Council to condemn what it describes as the politicization of the watchdog organization. The French ambassador fired back:
The U.S. Navy in “Indian Waters”
A “freedom of navigation” exercise by U.S. warships has caused a stir in India. On April 7, the U.S. Seventh Fleet announced that warships passed through India’s exclusive economic zone. As is customary with such missions, the operation was conducted without advance notification or authorization. News of the passage prompted an objection from the Indian government and outrage from certain Indian commentators.
While not unusual, the U.S. deployment (and the announcement that it had happened) highlighted conflicting interpretations of maritime law between Washington and Delhi. The United States believes that international law permits full freedom of navigation for military vessels inside national EEZs, while India is one of more than a dozen countries (including China) that restricts foreign military activities in the maritime zone. The kerfuffle came as the United States and India have been enjoying closer strategic relations, including through the mechanism of the Quad.
Briefly noted:
Three UN human rights special rapporteurs expressed alarm about Japan’s release of water from the Fukushima nuclear plant.
The World Bank has accelerated a planned fundraising push for its International Development Association, the Bank arm devoted to lending to low-income countries.
ASEAN members are reportedly set to meet on the crisis in Myanmar, but expectations for a strong response are low.
The foreign ministers of the G7 countries called on Russia to “cease its provocations” near the border with Ukraine.
The African Union has plans for five vaccine production sites on the continent.
In a speech to the UN’s Economic and Social Council, Secretary General Antonio Guterres gave the multilateral system a failing grade on the pandemic. “No element of our multilateral response has gone as it should,” he said.
A look at Latin American women who could be in the running for UN’s top spot when Antonio Guterres’s expected second term ends.
Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, spoke about how the organization he leads is getting its voice heard at climate change negotiations.
The economist John Williamson passed away this week. Williamson coined the phrase “Washington Consensus” to describe the policies of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.