MULTILATERAL: Troop Support & more– 21st May 2024

Saluton from BA! This is Rorshok’s Multilateral Update from the 21st of May twenty twenty-four. A summary of what's going down in the world's major multilateral institutions.

Kicking off this edition, on Thursday the 16th, the New York Times reported that after years of rumored Western troop involvement, Ukraine has officially appealed to NATO for troop support amid its ongoing war with Russia. NATO countries, including the United States, are considering this request. Specifically, Ukraine has reportedly asked for NATO's assistance in training 150,000 new soldiers. According to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the United States, NATO and US trainers could also become easy targets for Russian air attacks.

Speaking of the US, on Wednesday the 15th it gave more details about an Israeli tank attack on a UN vehicle that took place two days before. The tank reportedly fired upon the vehicle, killing a security officer from India and wounding one from Jordan. The U.N. is certain an Israeli tank shell struck the vehicle, which was going to the European hospital in the city Rafah, located in southern Gaza.

The U.N. staff member killed was Waibhav Anil Kale, marking the first international U.N. employee casualty in the current Gaza conflict. He was forty-six years old and a retired army colonel, who began his role with the U.N. as a security coordination officer in April. The injured U.N. staff member is Yara Dababneh, who is in Jordan’s capital Amman for treatment at Al-Hussein Medical City, a military medical facility. Doctors are optimistic about her recovery.

The U.N. is still investigating the incident.

Also on Wednesday the 15th, South Africa appealed to the International Court of Justice, or ICJ, to halt the Rafah offensive, accusing Israel of committing genocide. Representatives for South Africa at the ICJ argued that Israel's closure of the Rafah and Kerem Shalom border crossings has led to a humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza. Israel is expected to respond in court on Friday the 24th. While the court's decisions are legally binding, it lacks mechanisms for enforcement.

On Tuesday the 14th, The International Organization for Migration, or IOM, released a report saying that a record seventy-six million people were internally displaced by the end of twenty twenty-three. Additionally, nearly forty-seven million new internal displacements occurred during the year. Ugochi Daniels, the Deputy Director General of the IOM, emphasized that the new displacements reflect a troubling reality as the world faces continuous conflicts and natural calamities. Daniels pointed out that the report highlights the pressing need for unified actions to strengthen disaster risk mitigation, enhance peacebuilding efforts, uphold human rights, and avert displacement.

As campaigning heats up for the upcoming Europe-wide elections, EU nations endorsed significant reforms to their asylum system. EU government ministers approved ten legislative components of the New Pact on Migration and Asylum on Tuesday the 14th. This pact sets out guidelines for the twenty-seven member states on managing people attempting to enter the countries without authorization, detailing procedures from screening applicants to determining if they qualify for protection, and deporting those who do not. The package passed despite opposition from Hungary and Poland, two migrant hardline nations who have consistently resisted mandatory migrant hosting or funding their support.

Moving on, Ian Borg, the Chair of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe, or OSCE, celebrated a recent agreement on border demarcation between Armenia and Azerbaijan on Tuesday the 14th. Borg expressed optimism following a meeting with Azerbaijan's President Ilham Aliyev in Baku. In a statement, he encouraged both countries to maintain momentum in their peace talks. Azerbaijan and Armenia have had ongoing land disputes since before the Soviet Union, but have engaged in two recent wars this decade. Nikol Pashinyan, the Armenian Prime Minister, has been under heavy criticism domestically for ceding territory to Azerbaijan during ongoing peace talks.

On Thursday the 16th, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, or IMF, said that artificial intelligence will fundamentally change forty percent of jobs globally, rising to sixty percent in developed countries. Reflecting on global resilience, the Director mentioned that the world has become more adept at handling crises following the Covid-19 pandemic and the war in Ukraine. She said that most economies did not collapse, contrary to widespread fears of a recession caused by rapidly rising inflation.

In other news, on Sunday, the 19th, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries Fund for International Development, or OPEC Fund, concluded a five-year partnership framework agreement with the Uzbek government to help the country develop sustainably. This collaborative endeavor entails the allocation of fresh financing amounting to 500 million dollars for Uzbekistan’s development goals. The announcement also included the provision of a new loan valued at twenty million dollars to the country to finance the implementation of a preschool education project, benefiting approximately 30,000 children across Uzbekistan.

Up next, game changing vaccines are still being developed. On Wednesday, the 15th, the World Health Organization (or WHO) announced its approval of a second dengue vaccine, the first one became available in twenty fifteen. The new shot offers a crucial tool amidst outbreaks in the Americas this year. This development holds the potential to safeguard millions globally against the mosquito-borne illness. The symptoms include high fever, nausea, joint and muscle pain, among others. The disease has a death rate of approximately twenty percent when untreated. The UN health agency endorsed the Qdenga vaccine, manufactured by the Japanese pharmaceutical company Takeda. The agency specifically recommended its administration to children aged six to sixteen residing in regions with high dengue prevalence. The two-dose vaccine provides protection against all four strains of dengue.

On an unrelated note, on Friday the 17th, Ghanaian President Akufo-Addo asked Bassirou Faye, Senegal’s President, to use his influence within the Economic Community of West African States, or ECOWAS, to help settle disputes with Niger, Burkina Faso, and Mali. Following their suspension by ECOWAS due to military coups in all three countries, Niger, Mali, and Burkina Faso announced their withdrawal from the bloc in January. In a joint statement, they cited the organization's departure from its founding principles and the spirit of Pan-Africanism as reasons for their sovereign decision. In a joint press conference at the Jubilee House after their discussions on Friday, President Akufo-Addo stated that Faye would spearhead efforts to reintegrate the three countries into ECOWAS following the military takeovers in twenty twenty-two and twenty twenty-three.

The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, or UNAIDS, put out a statement addressed to governments to safeguard the human rights of LGBTQ+ individuals on Wednesday the 15th. The UNAIDS emphasized that protecting the rights of every person is crucial for ensuring public health, as it facilitates inclusive and fair access to healthcare services without discrimination. Significant strides have been made in the movement for human rights for all, but the statement noted that more than sixty countries still criminalize the LGBTQ+ communities, with an additional twenty countries penalizing gender expression and identity.

To close this edition, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Monday the 13th that Japan and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (or ASEAN) are planning to implement an inaugural joint strategy concerning automobile production and sales within the Southeast Asian region. This initiative aims at countering China's growing presence in the electric vehicle market. The plan is to formulate an interim joint strategy, expected to span until around twenty thirty-five.

Aaand that’s it for this week! Thank you for joining us!

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See you next week!