Bob Rae attends a press conference regarding his appointment as the next ambassador to the United Nations on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on July 6, 2020.Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press
Bob Rae, Canada’s next ambassador to the United Nations, says he believes the 75-year-old international institution can survive growing attacks on multilateralism, but questions how effective it can be without support from powerful countries, including the United States, China and Russia.
Mr. Rae, who takes up his new post in New York on Aug. 4, said he does not agree with U.S. President Donald Trump’s loud criticism of multilateral institutions, such as the UN. He also expressed concern about the attitudes of Russia and China toward the UN and the growing number of authoritarian governments that don’t share Canada’s interest in strengthening international organizations.
“I think the UN will prevail in terms of its institutional ability to continue. I think the issue is how effective can it be. And obviously if any one of the critical world powers decides that it’s not going to engage effectively with that institution, then you have a problem,” Mr. Rae, a former Liberal MP and Ontario premier, said in an interview with The Globe and Mail this week.
“You’ve got to recognize that sometimes the wind blows a little harder than other times. And if that’s true, you just have to batten down the hatches and figure out another way to get through the storm.”
Mr. Trump has led an attack on multilateralism and global co-operation since taking office in 2016, criticizing the UN as ineffective and complaining about the costs of the 193-country body. He used his speech to the UN General Assembly in 2018 to tout his “America First” approach, reject globalism and demand respect for U.S. sovereignty. More recently, the President froze U.S. funding to the World Health Organization – the UN agency responsible for international health – after accusing it of mismanaging the COVID-19 pandemic.
Mr. Rae said that while the Trudeau and Trump administrations are not currently on the same page when it comes to the value of the UN, the governments remain strong partners. He warned of a “high level” of rhetoric that should be taken with a “grain of salt” as Americans prepare for the November election.
As permanent members of the UN Security Council, the U.S., China, Russia, France and the United Kingdom have the power to veto any substantive resolution under its consideration. Vetoes, particularly from Russia and China, have prevented the UN’s most powerful branch from passing resolutions on major international crises.
Mr. Rae pointed to a recent effort aimed at maintaining important humanitarian aid deliveries to Syria through two crossing points from Turkey. On the weekend, after Russia and China vetoed multiple resolutions on the matter, the Security Council approved aid deliveries to Syria – but only through one border crossing, leaving millions of Syrians who rely on the second aid channel in limbo. Russia and China, along with the Dominican Republic (which holds a non-permanent seat on the Council), abstained from Saturday’s vote.
“It took many, many months of negotiations and many failed resolutions that failed because they were vetoed by Russia and China to get a … mere one route from Turkey into Syria to provide for humanitarian assistance. That is a decision that is going to cost a lot of lives,” Mr. Rae said.
Russia, which backs Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, has vetoed 16 Security Council resolutions related to Syria since 2011. China has backed Russia for many of those votes.
The Trudeau government recently ran for a seat on the Security Council, but lost to Norway and Ireland last month after more than four years of campaigning.
Despite the loss, Mr. Rae says Canada still has a role to play on the world stage. Canada can help “rebuild” international institutions that uphold democracy, human rights and international order, he said, especially as the world faces deep economic and social challenges stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. He likened that effort to the period after the Second World War, when the UN was established.
“I think we’re now into a global rebuild because the extent of the damage being caused by the pandemic is global, it’s affecting everyone.”
With files from Reuters
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