New Delhi and the pursuit of reformed multilateralism

India’s support to the nations of the developing world was reinforced during the country’s stint as a non-permanent member of the Security Council. (Reuters)
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Updated 15 August 2024
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New Delhi and the pursuit of reformed multilateralism

Multilateralism is in crisis. With every turn of events, multilateral systems and international organizations are being debilitated, almost always at the expense of the Global South.

The UN stands paralyzed. Even as, on the one hand, international laws and agreements are adopted to strengthen the rules-based international order, on the other hand they are being violated with impunity and without accountability.

But the problem runs much deeper. A majority of developing countries have become bystanders in the unraveling of the world order. The only insurance they have against this, universal participation in decision-making processes, is vanishing. Instead, they are presented with two differing, even opposing, worldviews to which they are asked to subscribe.

Almost all of the current problems, whether within the UN, the World Trade Organization, the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank, can be traced back to the inability of the multilateral system to accommodate new and emerging powers in the post-Second World War architecture.

Multilateralism is caught between those who fight to preserve the status-quo that existed in 1945 and those who demand reforms to reflect the current realities, which are more multipolar.

India has been the biggest advocate of a strengthening of multilateralism over the years. In our changed world, if the most populous country, with the fifth-largest economy, a track record of multilateralism, democracy and a civilizational ethos of humanity, cannot be given its due in terms of global governance, there is clearly a need for reform.

In fact, during the 10th annual summit of the BRICS group of developing nations nations, in 2018 in Johannesburg, Prime Minister Narendra Modi proposed for the first time his vision for a “reformed multilateralism” that would give major emerging powers a voice in global governance.

India’s track record in the recent past, including its two-year stint as a member of the UN Security Council in 2021 and 2022, reveals numerous examples, if examples were needed, of how we have bridged or overcome differences to build a more inclusive multilateral world.

Accosted by global challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, terrorism, and the digital and AI divide, and the sprouting of conflicts that threaten international peace and security, India has become indispensable in the efforts to find solutions.

Lest we forget, when the world was reeling during the pandemic, and many countries were hoarding vaccines for themselves, India stepped forward to produce and distribute vaccines. In our Vaccine Maitri initiative, we prioritized supplies for smaller and more vulnerable countries and saved numerous lives.

In December 2021, as a member of the Security Council, we successfully thwarted a move to wrest climate change policy away from the inclusive process led by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, in which all countries are represented, and bring it under the control of the Security Council, which effectively would have placed climate action at the mercy of its five permanent members (the US, UK, Russia, China and France), who are historically the major polluters.

India underscored the fact that this draft resolution sought “to hand over that responsibility to a body which neither works through consensus nor is reflective of the interests of the developing countries.”

The draft was defeated by a vote in which India voted against it and Russia, as a permanent member, exercised its power of veto. Had the resolution succeeded, climate change architecture by now would have marginalized the voices of the Global South, especially those of the most vulnerable among them, including Small Island Developing States.

India yet again took a stand on the side of inclusivity and multilateralism when it played an instrumental role in the setting up in 2015 of the International Solar Alliance, which now has more than 100 member countries.

The G20 is an influential plurilateral group, the members of which are major economies that make decisions on global economic and developmental issues that affect all other countries as well. However, a glaring lacuna was that it did not fully represent the smaller and medium-sized states of the Global South.

To bridge this gap, when India held the presidency pf the G20 in 2022-23, Modi convened the Voice of Global South Summit, in which 125 developing countries took part. The outcomes of the summit were channeled into G20 discussions during India’s presidency, to ensure that the group took informed and inclusive decisions to benefit the vast majority.

In addition, India lobbied for African Union membership of the G20 and inducted it into the organization, which was a huge step for a continent that had not been adequately represented in the G20, Security Council or other international bodies.

Needless to say, India has been at the forefront of efforts to reform the Security Council. Dealing with conflicts is the business of council members — but the inability to deal with them has become its hallmark.

When the UN was established, there were 51 member states. Now we have 193 but we still have only five permanent members of the Security Council, who are polarized and have paralyzed its decision-making.

The days when a small group of countries get to decide what the entire world should do are over. The logical ultimate fall-out from an unreformed Security Council is the emergence of other power centers to challenge it, leading to fragmentation of the world order.

Unless there is legitimate, representative and permanent representation of the Global South, especially that of the largest country, India, and Africa, a continent of 54 nations, we cannot have meaningful decisions made by the council.

Our support to the nations of the developing world was reinforced during India’s stint as a non-permanent member of the Security Council, during which we stood for their territorial integrity; increased humanitarian assistance; the correcting of historical injustices; reforms; development partnerships; the fight against terror; and the peaceful resolution of disputes.

However, it was India’s independent and proactive stance during the war in Ukraine that acted as a catalyst in helping other developing countries voice their dissatisfaction with the pursuit of a military solution to the conflict, and instead call for diplomacy and dialogue, even in the midst of intense fighting and high emotions when all levers were being weaponized.

This was India saying, in effect, that we do not have to choose sides between warring blocs, however big or important they might be. This was India saying that we stand for another worldview that seeks the path of dialogue over war, seeks an inclusive world over polarization and fragmentation, seeks independence of policymaking over the coercion of small and medium-sized states in their decision-making, seeks territorial integrity over occupation, and seeks reformed multilateralism over the status quo or unilateralism.

• T.S. Tirumurti is a former Indian ambassador and a professor at IIT Madras.


Trump says ordering ‘100 percent tariff’ on all movies produced abroad

Updated 6 sec ago
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Trump says ordering ‘100 percent tariff’ on all movies produced abroad

WASHINGTON: President Donald Trump said Sunday he was ordering new tariffs on all films made outside the United States, claiming Hollywood was being “devastated” by a trend of US filmmakers and studios working abroad.
“I am authorizing the Department of Commerce, and the United States Trade Representative, to immediately begin the process of instituting a 100 percent Tariff on any and all Movies coming into our Country that are produced in Foreign Lands,” he wrote on his Truth Social platform.

 


Far right tops Romania’s presidential rerun, to face pro-EU candidate in run-off

Updated 11 min 22 sec ago
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Far right tops Romania’s presidential rerun, to face pro-EU candidate in run-off

  • Nationalist AUR party leader Simion — a fan of US President Donald Trump — was leading with 40.5 percent of the vote
  • He will face off against pro-EU Bucharest mayor Nicusor Dan in the May 18 run-off, who surged to second place at 20.9 percent

BUCHAREST: Romania’s far-right candidate George Simion took a comfortable lead in Sunday’s first round of presidential elections, near-final results for the rerun of last year’s annulled ballot showed.
The closely watched rerun could potentially herald a foreign policy shift in the EU country of 19 million, which has become a key pillar of NATO since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
With 99 percent of ballots counted, nationalist AUR party leader Simion — a fan of US President Donald Trump — was leading with 40.5 percent of the vote.
He will face off against pro-EU Bucharest mayor Nicusor Dan in the May 18 run-off, who surged to second place at 20.9 percent, narrowly booting out governing coalition candidate Crin Antonescu at 20.3.
“Together we made history today,” said Simion in a video message broadcast at his party’s headquarters as euphoric supporters chanted “Out with the thieves, let patriots come.”
Political science professor Sergiu Miscoiu told AFP that Simion now faced the uphill task of converting his lead into a win in the run-off, predicting that it would be a close race.
Other experts however have pointed to divisions within the pro-EU camp after a campaign marked by virulent accusations and dirty tricks.

In all, 11 presidential hopefuls were vying for the post which, while largely ceremonial carries some influence in foreign policy.
The rerun follows the cancelation of last year’s vote won by NATO critic Calin Georgescu.
He was barred from the rerun vote after authorities noted a massive TikTok campaign and issued claims of Russian interference, sparking sometimes violent protests.
Georgescu was replaced by 38-year-old Simion, who often dons a cap with the US president’s slogan “Make America Great Again.” He said he hoped to become Romania’s “MAGA president.”
“It’s time to take our country back,” said the barred Georgescu after casting his ballot alongside Simion in Mogosoaia, on the outskirts of Bucharest.
“We are here with a single mission: to return to democracy — and bring justice to Romania,” said Simion, who campaigned on a promise to put Romania first.
Many voters clearly wanted change on Sunday. Robert Teodoroiu told AFP he hoped that this time his ballot would count after last year’s vote was annulled.
“I’m trying my luck again,” said the 37-year-old driver in Bucharest.
Voter turnout stood at about 53 percent when polls closed.
Simion has largely campaigned online, partly in a bid to woo Romania’s influential overseas voters. While describing himself as “more moderate” than Georgescu, he shares his aversion to what he calls “Brussels’ unelected bureaucrats.”
Simion accuses EU officials of having meddled in Romania’s elections and has vowed to restore his country’s “dignity” within the bloc.
While frequently denouncing Russia, he opposes sending military aid to Ukraine and wants Romania to reduce support for Ukrainian refugees.
His campaign found favor with 67-year-old Stela Ivan, who hopes a far-right president would bring “change” to Romania after decades dominated by the same political parties since the end of Communism.
Another voter, 52-year-old nurse Silvia Tomescu, said she hoped for a “better life, higher wages and a president” who “will not side with Russia.”

Pro-European coalition candidate Crin Antonescu campaigned on a promise to offer stability, while Bucharest mayor Nicusor Dan vowed to fight the “corrupt” and “arrogant” political elite.
Simion promised on Sunday that if he became president, he would get Georgescu into power, citing three ways he might achieve that: “a referendum, early elections or forming a coalition in parliament that would appoint him Prime Minister.”
Following the ballot’s shock annulment — a rare move in the EU — the rerun was held under close scrutiny.
Thousands in Romania have protested in recent months against the annulled vote, denouncing it as a “coup.” US Vice President JD Vance also condemned the decision.
Authorities have stepped up preventive measures as well as cooperation with TikTok, saying they are committed to “fair and transparent” elections.
While the far right alleged “multiple signs of fraud,” the government pointed to various disinformation campaigns it said were “new attempts at manipulation and interference by state actors.”
 


Trump says he will reopen Alcatraz prison

Updated 23 min 24 sec ago
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Trump says he will reopen Alcatraz prison

  • Still in the 29 years it was open, 36 men attempted 14 separate escapes, according to the FBI

NEW YORK: President Donald Trump says he is directing his government to reopen and expand Alcatraz, the notorious former prison on a hard-to-reach California island that has been closed for more than 60 years.
In a post on his Truth Social site Sunday evening, Trump wrote that, “For too long, America has been plagued by vicious, violent, and repeat Criminal Offenders, the dregs of society, who will never contribute anything other than Misery and Suffering. When we were a more serious Nation, in times past, we did not hesitate to lock up the most dangerous criminals, and keep them far away from anyone they could harm. That’s the way it’s supposed to be.”
“That is why, today, I am directing the Bureau of Prisons, together with the Department of Justice, FBI, and Homeland Security, to reopen a substantially enlarged and rebuilt ALCATRAZ, to house America’s most ruthless and violent Offenders,” he wrote, adding: “The reopening of ALCATRAZ will serve as a symbol of Law, Order, and JUSTICE.”
The prison — infamously inescapable due to the strong ocean currents and cold Pacific waters that surround it — was known as the “The Rock” and housed some of the nation’s most notorious criminals, including gangster Al Capone and George “Machine Gun” Kelly.
It has long been part of the cultural imagination and has been the subject of numerous movies, including “The Rock” starring Sean Connery and Nicolas Cage.
Still in the 29 years it was open, 36 men attempted 14 separate escapes, according to the FBI. Nearly all were caught or didn’t survive the attempt.
The fate of three particular inmates — John Anglin, his brother Clarence and Frank Morris — is of some debate and was dramatized in the 1979 film “Escape from Alcatraz” starring Clinton Eastwood.
Alcatraz Island is now a major tourist site that is operate by the National Parks Service and is a designated National Historic Landmark.
The closure of the federal prison in 1963 was attributed to crumbling infrastructure and the high costs of repairing and supplying the island facility, because everything from fuel to food had to be brought by boat.
A spokesperson for the Bureau of Prisons said in a statement that the agency “will comply with all Presidential Orders.” The spokesperson did not immediately answer questions from The Associated Press regarding the practicality and feasibility of reopening Alcatraz or the agency’s role in the future of the former prison given the National Park Service’s control of the island.
The island serves as a veritable time machine to a bygone era of corrections. The Bureau of Prisons currently has 16 penitentiaries performing the same high-security functions as Alcatraz, including its maximum security facility in Florence, Colorado, and the US penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana, which is home to the federal death chamber.
The order comes as Trump has been clashing with the courts as he tries to send accused gang members to a notorious prison in El Salvador, without due process. Trump has also directed the opening of a detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba,to hold up to 30,000 of what he has labeled the “worst criminal aliens.”
The Bureau of Prisons has faced myriad crises in recent years and has been subjected to increased scrutiny after Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide at a federal jail in New York City in 2019. An AP investigation uncovered deep, previously unreported flaws within the Bureau of Prisons. AP reporting has disclosed widespread criminal activity by employees, dozens of escapes, chronic violence, deaths and severe staffing shortages that have hampered responses to emergencies, including assaults and suicides.
The AP’s investigation also exposed rampant sexual abuse at a federal women’s prison in Dublin, California. Last year, President Joe Biden signed a law strengthening oversight of the agency after AP reporting spotlighted its many flaws.

 


Russia offers to help resolve India-Pakistan differences over Kashmir

Updated 05 May 2025
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Russia offers to help resolve India-Pakistan differences over Kashmir

  • Risie in tensions between the two nuclear-armed neighbors escalated after a deadly terror attack on a mountain tourist destination in the Pahalgam area of Kashmir valley on April 22

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov spoke to his Pakistani counterpart on Sunday and offered Russia’s help in resolving tensions between Pakistan and India over Kashmir, the Foreign Ministry said.
“Particular attention was paid to the significant rise in tension between New Delhi and Islamabad,” the ministry said in a statement, referring to Lavrov’s conversation with Ishaq Dar, who is also Pakistan’s deputy prime minister.
“It was stressed that Russia is ready to act for a political settlement of the situation resulting from the act of terrorism of April 22 in the Pahalgam area of the Kashmir valley, in the event of a mutual desire on the part of Islamabad and New Delhi,” the Russian Foreign Ministry said in a statement posted on Telegram.

Lavrov’s conversation with Dar took place two days after he spoke with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and also called for a settlement of differences between the two neighboring countries.
Suspected militants killed at least 26 people in last week’s attack on a mountain tourist destination in the Pahalgam area of the Kashmir valley.
Muslim-majority Kashmir is claimed by both countries and has been the focus of several wars, an insurgency and diplomatic standoffs.
Russia has been India’s largest weapons provider for decades and New Delhi and Moscow have had close ties since Soviet times.


Incoming German interior minister skeptical about ban on far-right AfD

Updated 04 May 2025
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Incoming German interior minister skeptical about ban on far-right AfD

  • German lawmakers have been discussing measures to dismiss civil servants who are members of the AfD and limit or halt public funding

BERLIN: Incoming German interior minister Alexander Dobrindt suggested on Sunday it was unlikely the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) party would be banned after the spy agency classified it as “extremist” last week.
German lawmakers have been discussing outlawing the party and taking other measures including dismissing civil servants who are members of the AfD and limiting or halting public funding.
But Dobrindt told broadcaster ARD he was doubtful whether the AfD activities identified in the spy agency’s report met the requirements set out for an outright ban.
Guidelines set by the constitutional court say a party must be shown to be working “combatively and aggressively” to implement its goals to be banned.
“I’m skeptical, because the aggressive, combative nature of the party against our democracy must be a defining characteristic. The Constitutional Court was right to set high hurdles for banning a party,” Dobrindt said.
He added that he was “convinced that the AfD does not need to be banned, it needs to be governed away, and we need to talk about the issues that have made the AfD so big.”
Dobrindt, a high-profile member of the CSU, the Bavarian sister party of incoming chancellor Friedrich Merz’s CDU, said his ministry would examine the designation in depth and he would discuss its findings with the spy agency’s top brass in person.
SPD leader Lars Klingbeil told the Bild am Sonntag newspaper that the future government would work to shrink the AfD.
“What I don’t believe is that a potential ban procedure, which could take years, is the sole instrument to bring the AfD down,” Klingbeil, Germany’s next vice chancellor, said.
AfD co-leader Alice Weidel accused outgoing Interior Minister Nancy Faeser of using the spy agency as a “secret justice system” to discriminate against the party.
“We are a future governing party; even the machinations of the secret justice system will not be able to prevent that in the long run,” Weidel told the Welt newspaper on Sunday.