The State of the United Nations on the Eve of the 'Summit of the Future'
08/30/24 • 43 min
When world leaders descend on New York in September, they’ll gather for a “Summit of the Future,” an eleventh-hour attempt to make the United Nations system more credible in the public eye. Ahead of that high-level debate, join us in The Delegates Lounge as we delve deep into the world body’s response to the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine; the great power rivalries between China, Russia and the United States; the potential impact of the upcoming U.S. election on multilateralism; and the challenges to reforming the Security Council as the UN debates its own future.
J. Alex Tarquinio chats with Richard Gowan, our guest in The Delegates Lounge and a familiar face around the UN hallways here in New York after 20 years of monitoring the global institution. He’s the UN Director at the International Crisis Group, an independent nonprofit, non-governmental organization committed to preventing and resolving deadly conflict. He oversees the global NGO’s advocacy work at the UN, liaising with diplomats and officials in New York.
Speakers:
J. Alex Tarquinio (host). @alextarquinio of @delegateslounge on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Richard Gowan (guest). @RichardGowan1 of @crisisgroup on X, formerly known as Twitter.
References:
A recent article by Richard Gowan on the “Pact for the Future” to be discussed at the “Summit of the Future,” which he mentioned in the interview. The draft version that he reviews here was released on July 17, after the interview in this episode.
https://www.justsecurity.org/98128/united-nations-pact-for-future/
The article by Richard Gowan about the recent U.K. election mentioned in our conversation.
https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/uk-foreign-policy-united-nations/
The host mentioned Martin Griffiths, who was the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator until the end of June 2024. In his final press briefing on June 4, well before the recent pause in UN aid deliveries to Gaza, Griffiths spoke about the challenges of providing security for aid deliveries to Gaza. He specifically addressed the issue of the stolen trucks at several points in his final press briefing, including at the 14-minute, the 26:30-minute, and the 44-minute marks in the following video.
https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k16/k16fjab6eu
The host mentioned that the UN “was not very present” at the Summit on Peace in Ukraine in Bürgenstock, Switzerland in June 2024. The UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo attended the summit as an observer.
https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/fdfa/fdfa/aktuell/dossiers/konferenz-zum-frieden-ukraine.html
The host and guest discussed the U.S. financial contributions to the UN system. These are explained in the following “backgrounder” article by the Council on Foreign Relations, “Funding the United Nations: How Much Does the U.S. Pay?”
When world leaders descend on New York in September, they’ll gather for a “Summit of the Future,” an eleventh-hour attempt to make the United Nations system more credible in the public eye. Ahead of that high-level debate, join us in The Delegates Lounge as we delve deep into the world body’s response to the conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine; the great power rivalries between China, Russia and the United States; the potential impact of the upcoming U.S. election on multilateralism; and the challenges to reforming the Security Council as the UN debates its own future.
J. Alex Tarquinio chats with Richard Gowan, our guest in The Delegates Lounge and a familiar face around the UN hallways here in New York after 20 years of monitoring the global institution. He’s the UN Director at the International Crisis Group, an independent nonprofit, non-governmental organization committed to preventing and resolving deadly conflict. He oversees the global NGO’s advocacy work at the UN, liaising with diplomats and officials in New York.
Speakers:
J. Alex Tarquinio (host). @alextarquinio of @delegateslounge on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Richard Gowan (guest). @RichardGowan1 of @crisisgroup on X, formerly known as Twitter.
References:
A recent article by Richard Gowan on the “Pact for the Future” to be discussed at the “Summit of the Future,” which he mentioned in the interview. The draft version that he reviews here was released on July 17, after the interview in this episode.
https://www.justsecurity.org/98128/united-nations-pact-for-future/
The article by Richard Gowan about the recent U.K. election mentioned in our conversation.
https://www.worldpoliticsreview.com/uk-foreign-policy-united-nations/
The host mentioned Martin Griffiths, who was the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator until the end of June 2024. In his final press briefing on June 4, well before the recent pause in UN aid deliveries to Gaza, Griffiths spoke about the challenges of providing security for aid deliveries to Gaza. He specifically addressed the issue of the stolen trucks at several points in his final press briefing, including at the 14-minute, the 26:30-minute, and the 44-minute marks in the following video.
https://webtv.un.org/en/asset/k16/k16fjab6eu
The host mentioned that the UN “was not very present” at the Summit on Peace in Ukraine in Bürgenstock, Switzerland in June 2024. The UN Under-Secretary-General for Political and Peacebuilding Affairs Rosemary DiCarlo attended the summit as an observer.
https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/fdfa/fdfa/aktuell/dossiers/konferenz-zum-frieden-ukraine.html
The host and guest discussed the U.S. financial contributions to the UN system. These are explained in the following “backgrounder” article by the Council on Foreign Relations, “Funding the United Nations: How Much Does the U.S. Pay?”
Next Episode
NATO's Turning Point: Insights From ESTONIA, SPAIN and CZECHIA ministers
Hear directly from the defense minister of Estonia and the foreign ministers of Spain and Czechia. We caught up with these high-level ministers on the sidelines of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s 75th Anniversary Summit in Washington, D.C. this summer. Our conversation highlights the urgency for NATO allies to increase military spending and support Ukraine amidst the ongoing conflict with Russia. Delve into the significance of past NATO summits on U.S. politics and the growing security concerns in the Indo-Pacific region, showcasing the interconnectedness of global threats and the importance of transatlantic solidarity.
In this episode, we’ll explore NATO’s southern and eastern flanks in exclusive interviews that J. Alex Tarquinio, our host in The Delegates Lounge, held with Estonia’s Defense Minister Hanno Pevkur, Spain’s Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares, and Czechia’s Foreign Minister Jan Lipavský. Each of the ministers emphasized the global nature of security threats today, and how what happens in the Middle East and even as far off as the Indo-Pacific region affects the security of the Transatlantic alliance. We also spoke about the use of sanctions. This was before the new set of sanctions imposed by the United States on August 23rd on hundreds of businesses and business people to counteract what Washington describes as sanctions evasion, which we discuss in the introduction to the episode.
Speakers:
J. Alex Tarquinio (host). @alextarquinio of @delegateslounge on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Hanno Pevkur, Estonia’s Defense Minister (guest). @HPevkur of @MoD_Estonia on X, formerly known as Twitter.
José Manuel Albares, Spain’s Foreign Minister (guest). @jmalbares of @SpainMFA on X, formerly known as Twitter.
Jan Lipavský, Czechia’s Foreign Minister (guest). @JanLipavsky of @CzechMFA on X, formerly known as Twitter.
References:
The NATO Washington Summit Declaration referred to the People’s Republic of China as a “decisive enabler of Russia’s war against Ukraine” and to Ukraine’s “irreversible” path towards NATO membership.
https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/official_texts_227678.htm
This year, NATO estimates that 23 of the 32 member states will reach the goal of spending at least 2% of their gross domestic product on defense.
https://www.nato.int/cps/en/natohq/news_226465.htm
A few days before attending the NATO Washington Summit, Japan announced that it would work with Cambodia on a project to bolster Ukraine’s training and equipment for demining operations.
https://apnews.com/article/japan-cambodia-demining-ukraine-278a7c572b93ee3e9b4d1aa4c912a672
On August 23, the United States imposed new sanctions on around 400 companies and individuals — both inside and outside of Russia — that Washington accuses of enabling the Kremlin’s war in Ukraine by supporting Moscow’s military-industrial base.
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/jy2546
https://www.state.gov/new-measures-to-degrade-russias-wartime-economy/
The Delegates Lounge - The State of the United Nations on the Eve of the 'Summit of the Future'
Transcript
Welcome to the Delegates Lounge . Pull up a chair . I'm Alex Tarquinio , a journalist based at the United Nations here in New York City and your emcee for this podcast featuring some of the most influential minds in the world today . Settle in for some riveting tete-a-tete , available wherever you listen to podcasts .
J. Alex TarquinioWelcome
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