AU Suspends Gabon from its Activities & more– 5th Sep 2023

Saluton from Tibidabo! This is Rorshok Multilateral Update from the 5th of September twenty twenty-three A summary of what's going down in the world's major multilateral institutions

The African Union (or AU) has swiftly suspended Gabon following the military overthrow of President Ali Bongo Ondimba.

Putschist soldiers in Gabon had declared the end of President Ali Bongo Ondimba's regime and placed him under house arrest, following his official victory announcement in the recent presidential election.

The AU strongly denounced the military's seizure of power in Gabon and suspended the country's participation in all AU activities, institutions, and organs.

It’s been over a year since the German police launched an appeal for help after the discovery of a young boy's body in the Danube River.

A canoeist found the body of a boy aged between five and six in May twenty twenty-two near Grossmehring in Bavaria, Germany.

Despite ongoing investigations, authorities have been unable to identify the boy or determine the circumstances of his death.

INTERPOL has issued a Black Notice, an international information alert, to its 195 member countries, including facial reconstruction images and physical details of the child.

INTERPOL believes that the boy may had spent time outside Germany.

German police are urging anyone with relevant information, particularly regarding missing children matching the boy's description, to come forward and are willing to conduct DNA comparisons to identify potential relatives.

Brazil's Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira has announced that, in September, Mercosur, the South American trade bloc, will present its counter-proposal to a European Union addendum to their long-pending trade agreement.

The delay in Mercosur's response was attributed to a change of government in Paraguay. Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva expressed dissatisfaction with the EU's side letter, which he said contained unacceptable "threats" to penalize countries.

The EU has been awaiting a response to their addendum, which includes environmental safeguards, since March.

The Mercosur counter proposal aims to include achievable goals while addressing environmental concerns raised by EU member countries.

Since we mentioned the European Union, EU and NATO members Latvia, Lithuania, and Poland have demanded the immediate departure of Russia's Wagner Group from Belarus and the expulsion of illegal migrants.

Concerns have risen due to the presence of Russian mercenaries in Belarus and an influx of mainly Middle Eastern and African migrants attempting to cross borders.

These countries accuse Belarus of using the migrants to destabilize the nations, which Minsk denies. Polish Interior Minister Mariusz Kamiński warned that in the event of a critical incident, all border crossings that have been opened so far will be closed.

Lithuania's Interior Minister Agnė Bilotaitė added that border closures could occur in response to armed incidents or mass migrant breakthroughs.

Lithuania is considering closing two out of its four remaining border crossing points with Belarus to enhance security.

OPEC Secretary General Haitham Al Ghais emphasized the need for a multifaceted approach to meet future energy demands, stating that no single energy source will be enough.

OPEC member countries are ready to provide affordable energy while reducing emissions and addressing energy poverty.

Currently, over 700 million people lack electricity access, and nearly one-third of the global population relies on polluting cooking methods.

Al Ghais asserted that oil could play a vital role in providing universal energy access, especially in developing nations where basic electricity and heating are essential.

He noted global population growth, projected to increase by 1.6 billion by twenty forty-five, and a potential growth of 10.4 billion by twenty-one hundred. Subsequently, this will increase global demand for goods and services along with the energy needed to supply those industries. Thus, oil could still play a supplementary but still vital role in global production systems.

OPEC's World Oil Outlook anticipates a twenty-three percent increase in global energy demand by twenty forty-five, including higher oil demand, emphasizing the continued importance of oil in the energy landscape.

UNESCO is set to declare Jericho, a historic city in the West Bank, as a Palestinian heritage site during the 45th session of the UNESCO World Heritage Committee in Riyadh that will take place from the 10th to the 25th of September.

Jericho, considered one of the world's oldest continually inhabited cities, boasts a rich historical legacy dating back to around nine thousand BCE, including the world's oldest known protective wall.

UNESCO's proposal seeks to highlight Jericho's profound historical and cultural significance for the Palestinian people and the need to protect it from potential harm.

Some Israeli politicians and media outlets criticize UNESCO for allegedly undermining Jewish ties to the region, while Arab media argue that this move aligns with UNESCO's mission to preserve and celebrate cultural heritage worldwide.

UNICEF's latest report underscores a troubling reality: Children in Africa, particularly those in countries like the Central African Republic, Chad, Nigeria, Guinea, Somalia, and Guinea-Bissau are facing severe climate change consequences.

The report reveals that a mere two percent of global climate funding is dedicated to children, leaving them extremely vulnerable to the effects of climate change.

Kids, who are the least resilient due to their physiological vulnerability and limited access to essential services, need greater attention and resources to navigate a lifetime of climate-induced challenges.

Even when youth are considered, funding only rises to six percent of total multilateral climate fund spending.

Initiatives like the Green Jobs for Youth Pact are essential to address this issue, aiming to create one million new green jobs, transform existing positions, and support 10,000 young green entrepreneurs by twenty thirty.

Three years after launching its COVID-19 Technology Access Pool (or C-TAP) initiative, the World Health Organization (or WHO) has achieved its first COVID vaccine license from a private pharmaceutical company, Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corporation of Taiwan.

However, this milestone is less impressive than initially envisioned.

C-TAP was created with the goal of ensuring equitable global access to COVID-19 vaccines, treatments, and technologies.

Despite acquiring three new licenses this week, including one for a Coronavirus vaccine prototype from the Spanish National Research Council and technology for a COVID antibody level test from the University of Chile, C-TAP's ambitions have not been widely embraced by major pharmaceutical companies.

Only five licenses have been shared on C-TAP so far, and none are for vaccines.

This highlights the ongoing issue of pharmaceutical giants' dominance in the global vaccine market, as these companies control the distribution of vaccines during pandemics, emphasizing profit over equity.

ASEAN faces a challenging summit in Jakarta, with Myanmar, East Timor, and the South China Sea testing the organization’s unity.

Thailand's recent embrace of Myanmar's junta, China's assertiveness in the South China Sea, and Myanmar‘s expulsion of East Timor's diplomat strain the bloc's cohesion.

These issues, especially the conflictive situation in Myanmar, raise questions about ASEAN's relevance. Despite the five-point consensus on Myanmar (which we talked about in previous episodes), the military regime continues a brutal crackdown.

To maintain credibility, ASEAN's founding states need to put in efforts to resolve these issues and engage with the National Unity Government of Myanmar, the exiled elected government, ousted in the twenty twenty-one coup d'état.

And to close this edition, The International Atomic Energy Agency (or IAEA) Chief urges Iran to prove its peaceful nuclear intentions amid growing concerns.

Some countries are worried about Iran providing nuclear weapons to other nations.

Rafael Mariano Grossi, Director General of the IAEA, called on Iran to provide credible assurances regarding its highly enriched uranium stock, emphasizing that Iran already possesses sufficient nuclear material for multiple weapons.

Grossi highlighted the necessity of agreements like the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action to grant the IAEA adequate visibility into Iran's nuclear capabilities.

He also expressed unease about Iran's lack of transparency concerning uranium traces at older sites.

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