2023-09-21 20:07:18
The high mass of world leaders is coming to an end. During this intense week, meetings multiplied to bring Westerners closer to countries in the South. And counter the Russian narrative.
On the fourth day of the annual meeting of the United Nations, it’s time for a first assessment. Most world leaders have already taken the podium, and the UN halls are gradually emptying. The debates were intense, like this Security Council meeting devoted to Ukraine. The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyvery noticed in New York, flew to Washington, where he continues his quest for support against the Russian invader.
The great challenge of this opening week of the 78th UN General Assembly was to try to bridging the widening gap between the West and the South since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine.
For two years, Russia has been distilling an anti-Western narrative into the countries of Africa, Latin America and Asia in order to obtain their support, using grain and energy as weapons. In Africa, Moscow goes further by deploying mercenaries to support coups and oust the Europeans.
Overcoming divisions
“Sometimes we need to be humble about our past.”
Western leaders have understood the urgency of overcoming divisions, avoiding targeting emerging and developing countries, and telling them that their difficulties matter as much as the conflict in Ukraine.
Prime Minister Alexander De Croo made it the common thread of his speech. He denounced Russia’s real intentions in Africa. “What Wagner and Putin are doing to Africa is exactly the same thing as to Ukraine,” he said. “Prevent Africa from prospering. Deny the sovereignty of African countries. And finally, as in Ukraine, colonize.”
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The liberal launched a call to collaborate with the countries of the South. Faced with the climate challenge, he proposed including them in the “new industrial pact” that he wants to carry during the Belgian presidency of the Council of the EU. On the migration aspect, he called for conclude partnerships with countries of transit and origin” in order “to build strong and inclusive institutions”.
This collaborative approach was also present during the meeting with the President of the DRC, Félix Tshisekediwhere the pitfall of Belgian paternalism, very little appreciated in the Congo, was carefully avoided.
“Sometimes we have to show humility in relation to our past. We did not meet certain expectations,” confides Alexander De Croo, “on the other hand, we must also defend ourselves“.
Russia isolated
“Europe contributes 43% of humanitarian aid in the world. What is Russia’s share?”
Have Westerners managed to reverse the trend this week? If there is one observation that we can already draw from this UN session, it is that Russia is more isolated than ever.
During his intervention at the Security Council, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov did not gather. The Russian attempt to block any agreement on the pandemic, tuberculosis and universal healthcare coveragewas not appreciated.
“I saw that Russia is isolated here in the diplomatic dynamic,” summarizes Alexander De Croo. “We don’t agree on everything, but the value of the UN, this forum where everyone talks and listens to each other, is still there.”
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This speech from Russia, which would succeed in rallying the south, “is propaganda, a biased narrative“, adds Foreign Minister Hadja Lahbib. “Europe contributes 43% of humanitarian aid in the world. What is Russia’s share?” she continues.We have to come back to the numberss. Our involvement in the DRC has not diminished one cent since the war in Ukraine and, next door, we have Russia which is bombing the ports, preventing the passage of grain and making this war a cynical business.”
Making promises come true
“The future is not written: it is up to you, the leaders, to write it.”
Meetings seeking to show that not everything is focused on aid to Ukraine, have multiplied on the sidelines of the General Assembly. Like this conference on the protection of the oceans, where representatives of the countries most threatened by sea pollution and global warming were able to launch an appeal for the implementation of the recent High Seas Treaty.
The Sustainable Development Goals, adopted in 2015, were also in the spotlight. UN member countries had committed to implementing these commitments by the year 2030, ranging from the eradication of hunger to the fight against global warming. The bitter reality is thatbarely 15% of objectives were achieved halfway.
In this time trial for the survival of the planet, it may not be too late. But the United Nations must deliver on its commitments. “The future is not written: it is up to you, the leaders, to write it“, warned UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres during a climate summit.
The summary
- The annual meeting of the United Nations was marked by the desire of Western countries to bridge the widening gap with the countries of the South since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, Russia has accentuated divisions with an anti-Western narrative.
- In his speech at the UN, Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo insisted on collaboration with emerging and developing countries.
- Meetings multiplied around sustainable development, ocean protection and the fight against global warming, in order to reassure the south. But implementation must follow.
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