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Why BRICS’ push for multipolarity worries the West?

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September 10, 2023


KARACHI:

“As the global community moves towards multipolarity, we desperately need – and I have been vigorously advocating for – a strengthened and reformed multilateral architecture based on the UN Charter and international law to avoid fragmentation,” UN Secretary General António Guterres said while speaking at the BRICS summit in the South African city of Johannesburg late last month.

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Guterres pointed out that today’s global governance structures were established in the aftermath of WWII, excluding many African countries still under colonial rule. He stressed the necessity for these institutions to reflect contemporary power dynamics and economic realities. Without such reforms, fragmentation becomes inevitable, warned the UN chief.

The BRICS summit produced a joint statement, called the Johannesburg Declaration, after three-day deliberations in which the grouping reiterated its commitment “to inclusive multilateralism and upholding international law, including the purposes and principles enshrined in the Charter of 2 the UN as its indispensable cornerstone, and the central role of the UN in an international system in which sovereign states cooperate to maintain peace and security, advance sustainable development”.

The BRICS nations also expressed “concern about the use of unilateral coercive measures, which are incompatible with the principles of the Charter of the UN and produce negative effects notably in the developing world. We reiterate our commitment to enhancing and improving global governance by promoting a more agile, effective, efficient, representative, democratic and accountable international and multilateral system.”

The most significant highlight of the 94-point Johannesburg Declaration was the bloc’s decision to admit Argentine, Egypt, Iran, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Ethiopia as full members of BRICS from January 1, 2024, out of the 22 countries that had formally applied for membership. “We appreciate the considerable interest shown by countries of the Global South in membership of BRICS. True to the BRICS spirit and commitment to inclusive multilateralism, BRICS countries reached consensus on the guiding principles, standards, criteria and procedures of the BRICS expansion process,” reads the declaration. This indicates further future enlargement of the bloc in an effort to seek a greater weight in international affairs.

In the run-up to the BRICS summit, the Western media’s frenzied chattering rose to a crescendo as it sought to portray the huddle as an attempt by the China-led Global South to turn the “club” into a “geopolitical force that can challenge the West’s dominance in world affairs.” It also tried to trump up differences among BRICS nations over its expansion as the summit was scheduled to admit new entrants. A Western news agency even cooked up a story on the authority of “sources” that Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was unlikely to attend the conclave. Foreign Minister Jaishankar had to quash the “rumour”, leading his South African counterpart, Naledi Pandor, to conclude that “someone was trying to spoil our summit.” The Western media also played up the complex nature of relations between BRICS nations, especially India and China, and their differing approaches towards the West.

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This is not the first time. The West’s global narrative-shaping media has repeatedly tried to stymie the bloc’s growth through concerted campaigns. This begs the question: why BRICS has become a worry for the West? There could be several possible reasons. First, the West fears that BRICS could become a systemic rival to G7 (the United States, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, and the United Kingdom) which enjoys undisputed monopoly over international financial affairs and thereby dictates global agenda. These fears stem from the compelling fact that BRICS contains the two most populous nations and the leading countries on three continents; produce one-third of the world’s food; and has an aggregated GDP of 31.5%, which surpasses G7’s GDP of 30.7%. Moreover, the allure of BRICS is such that it has attracted the countries that have long been key US allies in the Gulf region and northern Africa.

Second, the US fears that BRICS might be used by rival China to threaten the “liberal rule-based” world order that the West believes it has been divinely tasked to protect and promote. The US draws much of its unprecedented power from the overwhelming success of the alliances and coalitions it has cobbled up and led as a foreign policy tool to achieve its geopolitical objectives. In BRICS, the US strategists now see a potential rival alliance of the Global South motivated by a desire to reconfigure the world order and threaten the Western geopolitical interests in the world. This is notwithstanding the fact that BRICS is not a NATO-style alliance nor do its members see it as one, as it allows them to chart their individual course on international issues. The BRICS nations reiterated this commitment in the Johannesburg Declaration: “We believe that multilateral cooperation is essential to limit the risks stemming from geopolitical and geoeconomic fragmentation and intensify efforts on areas of mutual interest.”

Third, two key US allies in the Middle East – Saudi Arabia and the UAE – joining BRICS might also be unsettling. The move indicates the two oil behemoths are drifting away from the West after becoming disillusioned by declining US engagements in the region. They started feeling, particularly during the past two US administrations, that they could not rely on their “ironclad alliance” with the West for their strategic interest and security. The Yemen and Syria wars and China-brokered rapprochement drive have apparently changed security paradigms in the Gulf region. The Johannesburg Declaration welcomed “positive developments” in the Middle East, especially the détente between Riyadh and Tehran, readmission of Syria into the Arab League, and reaffirmed support for Yemen’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Fourth, the US fears that as BRICS expands and strengthens, it may move to dethrone the “king dollar” which has been ruling global financial transactions since the end of World War-II. This privileged status of the greenback has lent colossal power to the US to use its currency as a tool to implement its geopolitical agenda globally. The dollar’s hegemony in the financial world and the strategic power it bestows on the US has long induced a desire to de-dollarize global trade. BRICS nations have been trying for a decade to launch a common currency, but their efforts have hit snags as 58% of global foreign exchange reserves remain in the dollar. The Ukraine war has given a fresh impetus to the de-dollarisation drive as Russia, China, and Brazil have decided to ditch the dollar for cross-border transactions and shift their reserves into gold.

Now, the admission of Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and Iran might spell the end of the petrodollar’s long reign. With the three oil giants on board, BRICS would make up almost 42% of global crude oil output – and this economic clout might brighten the bloc’s chances of deploying alternative currencies. The Johannesburg Declaration made no secret of this de-dollarisation desire. “We stress the importance of encouraging the use of local currencies in international trade and financial transactions between BRICS as well as their trading partners. We also encourage strengthening of correspondent banking networks between the BRICS countries and enabling settlements in the local currencies,” it states.

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Design by: Mohsin Alam

Design by: Mohsin Alam

Today, we see a major shift towards a multipolar world which requires global multilateral institutions, like the UN, World Bank, and IMF, to support this seismic shift for a world of shared prosperity. Development should not be an exclusive privilege of the Global North. “We cannot afford a world with a divided global economy and financial system… and with conflicting security frameworks,” the UN chief said at the Johannesburg summit. And BRICS nations unequivocally stated in their joint statement that they “encourage multilateral financial institutions and international organisations to play a constructive role in building global consensus on economic policies and preventing systemic risks of economic disruption and financial fragmentation”. However, at the same time the grouping called for greater representation of emerging markets and developing countries in international organisations and multilateral fora.

In this defining moment in world history, the international community has to make a choice between dialogue and confrontation, and cooperation and conflict while keeping in mind that “humanity will not be able to solve its common problems” in a fragmented world mired in crises.

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World

US vetoes UN ceasefire bid as Israel continues Gaza assault

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GAZA:

Israel pressed its invasion of the besieged Palestinian enclave of Gaza on Saturday after the United States blocked an extraordinary UN bid to call for a ceasefire in the two-month conflict.

Hamas and the Palestinian Authority swiftly condemned the US veto as the Palestinian health ministry put the latest death toll in Gaza at 17,487 people, mostly women and children.

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An Israeli strike on the southern city of Khan Yunis killed six people, while five others died in a separate attack in Rafah, the ministry said Saturday.

Vast areas of Gaza have been reduced to rubble and the UN says about 80 percent of the population has been displaced, with dire shortages of food, fuel, water and medicine reported.

“It’s so cold, and the tent is so small. All I have are the clothes I wear, I still don’t know what the next step will be,” said Mahmud Abu Rayan, displaced from Beit Lahia in the north.

A UN Security Council resolution that would have called for an immediate ceasefire was vetoed by the United States on Friday.

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US envoy Robert Wood said the resolution was “divorced from reality” and “would have not moved the needle forward on the ground”.

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen said the ceasefire “would prevent the collapse of the Hamas terrorist organisation, which is committing war crimes and crimes against humanity, and would enable it to continue ruling the Gaza Strip”.

Hamas slammed on Saturday the US rejection of the ceasefire bid as “a direct participation of the occupation in killing our people and committing more massacres and ethnic cleansing”.

Palestinian Prime Minister Mohammed Shtayyeh said it was “a disgrace and another blank cheque given to the occupying state to massacre, destroy and displace”.

Wounded Palestinian children sit on the floor at Nasser hospital following Israeli strikes. PHOTO: Reuters

Wounded Palestinian children sit on the floor at Nasser hospital following Israeli strikes. PHOTO: Reuters

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The veto was swiftly condemned by humanitarian groups, with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) saying the Security Council was “complicit in the ongoing slaughter”.

Israel’s military said Friday it had struck 450 targets in Gaza over 24 hours, showing footage of strikes from naval vessels in the Mediterranean.

The Palestinian health ministry reported 40 Palestinians killed near Gaza City in the north, and dozens more in Jabalia and the main southern city of Khan Yunis.

Following two months of conflict and barbaric Israeli bombardment, UN chief Antonio Guterres said Friday “the people of Gaza are looking into the abyss”.

“People are desperate, fearful and angry,” he said. “All this takes place amid a spiralling humanitarian nightmare.”

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Many of the 1.9 million Gazans who have been displaced by the war have headed south, turning Rafah near the Egyptian border into a vast camp.

Only 14 of the 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip were functioning in any capacity, according to United Nations’ humanitarian agency OCHA.

With the civilian toll mounting, US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby told reporters Friday that Washington believes Israel needs to do more to protect civilians in the conflict.

“We certainly all recognise more can be done to… reduce civilian casualties. And we’re going to keep working with our Israeli counterparts to that end,” he said.

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The death toll also rose in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, where Israeli forces shot dead six Palestinians on Friday, the territory’s health ministry said.

Israel claimed Friday it has lost 91 soldiers in Gaza. The real number of casualties is likely higher.

It claimed two others were wounded in a failed bid to rescue hostages overnight, and that “numerous terrorists” were killed in the operation.

Hamas said a hostage was killed in the botched Israeli rescue operation, and released a video purporting to show the body, which could not be independently verified.

An attack on the US embassy in Iraq on Friday deepened fears of wider regional conflict.

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Salvoes of rockets were launched against the mission in Baghdad’s heavily fortified Green Zone, adding to dozens of recent rocket and drone strikes by resistance groups against American or coalition forces in Iraq and Syria.

Separately, three Hezbollah fighters and a Syrian were killed on Friday in an Israeli drone strike on their car in the south of Syria, a war monitor said.

WHO members urge Israel to protect humanitarian workers

More than a dozen member states of the World Health Organization submitted a draft resolution on Friday that urged Israel to respect its obligations under international law to protect humanitarian workers in Gaza.

A wounded Palestinian child sits on the floor of Nasser hospital following Israeli strikes. PHOTO: Reuters

A wounded Palestinian child sits on the floor of Nasser hospital following Israeli strikes. PHOTO: Reuters

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The text of the draft resolution is due to be examined on Sunday during a special session of the WHO’s Executive Board convened to discuss “the health situation in the occupied Palestinian territory”.

It was proposed by Algeria, Bolivia, China, Egypt, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Malaysia, Morocco, Pakistan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Turkey, United Arab Emirates and Yemen.

Palestinian representatives have WHO observer status, and were also signatories to the proposal.

The member states expressed their “grave concern about the catastrophic humanitarian situation in the occupied Palestinian territory, including east Jerusalem, especially the military operations in the Gaza Strip”.

They called for Israel to “respect and protect” medical and humanitarian workers exclusively involved in carrying out medical duties, as well as hospitals and other medical facilities.

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Separately, WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told reporters on Friday that Gaza’s health system was on its knees and could not afford to lose another ambulance or a single hospital bed.

“The situation is getting more and more horrible by the day… beyond belief, literally,” he said.

The United Nations’ humanitarian agency OCHA said late on Thursday that only 14 of the 36 hospitals in the Gaza Strip were functioning in any capacity.
 



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Hundreds still stranded, plants closed in India’s Chennai

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CHENNAI:

Volunteers waded through stagnant water to hand out food and supplies, and some manufacturing plants remained shut in India’s southern tech-and-auto hub district of Chennai on Friday, four days after cyclone Michaung lashed the coast.

At least 14 people, most of them in Chennai and its state of Tamil Nadu, have died in the flooding, triggered by torrential rains that started on Monday.

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The cyclone itself made landfall further north in Andhra Pradesh state on Tuesday afternoon.

Authorities said some low-lying areas of the state were still inundated and government officials and volunteers were taking supplies to people stuck in their homes in slums and other areas.

The larger Chennai area is home to the Indian units of several global firms including Hyundai Motor (005380.KS), Daimler and Taiwan’s Foxconn (2317.TW) and Pegatron (4938.TW) which do contract manufacturing for Apple (AAPL.O).

Read more: Chennai flooded as heavy rains from cyclone Michaung batter south India

While many of them including Pegatron and Foxconn resumed operations within a day or two of the cyclone making landfall, some plants of the TVS group located in the worst-affected areas are yet to open, industry sources said.

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Adani Krishnapatnam Port (APSE.NS) in Andhra Pradesh, said on Friday the cyclone had “very badly affected” its operations and it was declaring a force majeure period starting Dec. 3.

Force majeure is a notice used to describe events outside a company’s control, such as a natural disaster, which usually releases it from contractual obligation without penalty.

State-run Madras Fertilizers (MDFT.NS) notified stock exchanges that its Chennai plant has been shut and is tentatively expected to resume operations within two to four weeks.

Infrastructure questioned

Information technology (IT) services providers told staff to work from home for the week, while schools and colleges closed. A few schools and colleges were converted into temporary shelters.

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This week’s floods in Chennai brought back memories of the extensive damage caused by floods eight years ago which killed around 290 people.

In Andhra Pradesh, the damage from the cyclone was relatively contained, with roads damaged and trees uprooted as big waves crashed into the coast.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh visited Chennai on Thursday and announced New Delhi will release a second instalment of 4.5 billion rupees ($54 million) to Tamil Nadu to help manage the damage. The federal government has also approved a 5.6 billion-rupee project for flood management in Chennai, he said.

Chennai residents questioned the ability of the city’s infrastructure to handle extreme weather.

“Not only has urbanisation itself caused a problem, but the nature of the urbanisation has preyed upon open spaces, holding areas like marshlands and flood plains,” social activist Nityanand Jayaraman said.

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Experts have, however, said better stormwater drainage systems would not have been able to prevent the flooding caused by very heavy and extremely heavy rains.

“This solution would have helped a lot in moderate and heavy rainfall, but not in very heavy and extremely heavy rains,” Raj Bhagat P, a civil engineer and geo-analytics expert, said on Wednesday.



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Gunman described as struggling academic with ‘target list’

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The gunman who killed three professors and wounded one at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, was a financially struggling academic whose job applications were rejected by several higher-education institutions in Nevada, police said on Thursday.

Anthony James Polito, 67, also had mailed nearly two dozen suspicious letters to faculty at universities across the country and had prepared a “target list” of people at both UNLV and a North Carolina university where he once worked, police said.

Polito, facing eviction from his home in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson, had a criminal record of computer trespass dating to 1992 in Virginia, but police said there were no advance signs of violence.

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The Taurus 9mm handgun he used in the shooting was legally purchased in 2022, according to Sheriff Kevin McMahill of the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. He said Polito, who police shot dead after the attacks, was believed to have acted alone.

The precise motive for the rampage remained to be determined, though officials said it appeared students were not the primary target.

All four people shot on Wednesday inside Beam Hall, the campus building that houses UNLV’s business school, were faculty members.

Two of the dead were identified as professor Cha Jan “Jerry” Chang, 64, and assistant professor Patricia Navarro Velez, 39. The identity of the third slain professor was being withheld pending notification of family.

Read: Las Vegas campus shooting leaves 4 dead, including suspect

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The surviving victim remained hospitalized, and his condition worsened on Thursday, McMahill said.

Letters and list 

Detectives learned Polito had visited a post office shortly before the shooting and mailed 22 letters with no return address to university personnel across the United States, and had a list of people he was seeking on the UNLV campus as well as faculty from his former employer, East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina.

His LinkedIn profile described Polito as a semi-retired associate professor of business who taught at East Carolina from 2001-2017.

Authorities intercepted the letters before any were delivered and found a suspicious white powdery substance in at least one of them, McMahill said at a news briefing on Thursday.

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The letters’ contents remained under investigation, the sheriff told reporters, warning that anyone in higher education who received such an envelope should exercise caution and contact authorities.

He said officials were working to notify the intended recipients and had contacted nearly everyone on the separate target list to make sure all were safe.

“None of the individuals listed on the target list became a victim,” he told reporters.

He said detectives also had uncovered evidence that Polito was struggling financially, including an eviction notice taped to the entrance of his apartment. He said a document that appeared to be a will was found inside.

“We know he had applied numerous times for jobs with several Nevada higher-education institutions,” McMahill added, but he did not say whether UNLV was one of them.

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Police searching Polito’s home also recovered ammunition similar to the 150 rounds he was carrying.

The UNLV campus will remain closed through Friday. The UNLV website said classes had been canceled through Dec. 10.



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