Adekeye Adebajo: Halting the trend toward “global apartheid” is becoming more difficult almost by the day, and Israel’s war in Gaza is a key reason why.
Much of the Global South sees Western governments (and some media) as not just condoning, but actively supporting Israel’s aggressive offensive, which has already killed over 35,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children. This gives an impression of real hypocrisy, as those same governments decry Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Winning support for the fight against Russia – including in the United Nations General Assembly, where a majority of members come from the Global South – will remain an uphill battle, as long as countries can hold Gaza up as a mirror to Western countries. Heavy-handed police responses to pro-Palestinian protests on American college campuses do not help matters, as they invite accusations that the United States is failing to live up to the principles of free speech that it preaches to the rest of the world.
It is because of such developments that the 120-strong Non-Aligned Movement is gaining renewed relevance. After the Cold War, this grouping struggled to define a role for itself in a US-dominated unipolar world. But the global order is evolving, and China – which has traditionally worked with NAM countries at the UN – has gained superpower status. In the emerging new order, NAM countries will seek to maintain more distance from China.
PS: You have pointed out that UN peacekeepers have a “credibility problem” in Africa, despite the “integral role” the UN has played in “restoring peace and democratic rule” in some countries. Where have UN peacekeeping missions in Africa been most effective, and why did they succeed?
AA: First, I should stress that UN peacekeeping missions are, by their very nature, short-term fixes. The objective is to give warring parties the time and space they need to devise long-term solutions to their security challenges. But these long-term solutions – including activities such as rebuilding state institutions, restructuring security forces, and reintegrating soldiers into local communities – cost money. Insufficient funding for peacebuilding efforts is a major reason why countries often slide back into conflict.
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