Thread by @althecat

I caught up with the end of this yesterday - and this hearing is an alternative, & possibly better explanation for the rushed and botched roll out of the new US Africa Strategy.
VIDEO >> media.un.org/en/asset/k1g/k…

https://twitter.com/althecat/status/1556952679250886656?s=20&t=xcneTdtDr2g4UbygYSCLAw

China is comprehensively outplaying the US in international diplomacy. Here is China's "Concept Note" referred to at the beginning of the session. securitycouncilreport.org/whatsinblue/20…

A charitable interpretation of rushed release of the new US Africa Strategy (whitehouse.gov/wp-content/upl…) is that they wanted to release something that is alligned to the proposals being discussed in this UNSC Chinese Presidency event held on the same day.

But if it were, one might have expected the US SOS @SecBlinken and other briefers, to have explicitly said so, that would have been constructive.

@SecBlinken But instead this comes off the back of the spoiler @SpeakerPelosi trip to Taiwan which has tragically resulted in an end to the Chinese-US parnership on Climate Change announced at #COP26, achieved via a quiet diplomatic effort by Obama's SOS/BIden's Climate Tsar @JohnKerry.

Here is my report about the announcement of the Chinese-US partnership announcement at #COP26 - the most significant development at the global summit - which was arguably responsible for saving the make or break summit.

And here are the actual annuncements .
John Kerry's Press Conference for the US >>
And China's >>

If the charitable interpretation of recent events in international relations relating to Africa is that the US is seeking to allign itself with the consensus driven global direction driven by the multilateral COP process....

... a less charitable interpretation might conclude the US is unable to see anything outside a lens of global competition - including #ClimateChange & that the Africa Strategy was cobbled together in a rush - after they realised that a multilateral process was about to flower.

It is a shame that @UN Communications [ATTN: @unspokesperson / @StephDujarric] has not yet uploaded the video of yesterday's UNSC meeting on Africa to @YouTube as it is clearly a critically impt meeting in the run up to #COP27 in Egypt in November.

In the meantime it can be accessed via @UNWebTV and this link takes you to the Chinese PR's remarks which come after three opening expert briefings.

The first from @_AfricanUnion PAPS [African Union Political Affairs, Peace and Security - @AUC_PAPS] media.un.org/en/asset/k1g/k…

@UNWebTV @_AfricanUnion @AUC_PAPS I reccomend listening to the Chinese representatives speech ^^ in full, as it is both respectful and considered wrt to Africa.
It highlights the faultline between the US and China, i.e. US's focus on the importance of democracy vs a more utilitarian approach by China.

This distinction IMO is a little simplistic as there are many "democracries" in Africa which hold elections but which are not democracies by any nomal meaning of the term. Notably US/UK allies and occasional development exemplars Uganda and Rwanda.

At the end of his remarks the Chinese Ambassador quotes UNSG @antonioguterres: "Africa is a source of hope for the world."
He continues: "We couldn't agree more the peace and development of the world can't be realised without Africa."

China ends its introduction with a series of clear-eyed observations and reccomended seemingly direcetd towards a Western IC audience.

And next up is Kenya whose intervention is also well worth listening to, full of insight, information & ideas, many already in progress.

Direct link to video of Kenya's presentaton >> media.un.org/en/asset/k1g/k…

#PeaceAndSecurityInAfrica #UNSC

Ireland and India follow. Ireland's remarks are brief while India's remarks echo much of what China said and include a lengthy description of an impressive range of Indian-African cooperation, development support and existing capacity building and investment activity.

[As an aside when I was in Ethiopia recently I met an order of Nuns from Kerela who are engaged in an Indian-Ethiopian Mission providing health and education services in poor communities.]

Next up Gabon and Mexico. Gabon added to Kenya's briefing with some additional discussion about the emerging African security architecture which is increasingly under African control - but which needs additional support. Mexico mentioned the COP27 and climate finance.

Earlier in its briefing, Kenya referred to high levels of hosttility towards UN (rather than AU) led peace-keeping efforts across Africa - and their multi-billion dollar cost.

The UK intervention was rather anodyne and didn't substantively add anything which is disappointing given its current role as outgoing COP President, and responsibility for pushing the Climate Financing component of the UNFCCC efforts forward.

Brazil's remarks were more on point and again relevant to #COP27: "We must acknowledge that the conditions necessary for social development have been denied to African countries as indeed they have been to a majority of developing countries."

Inded an excellent contribution, perhaps (along with the Indian contribution - also in BRICS) pointing towards what may become a very large coalition of interest around the global south countries in Egypt at #COP27 in November

Norway supports development and security, but like other Western speakers in this open debate - is effectively narrow in the issues it discusses, UN operations and other minutiae without addressing the larger issues which are clearly on the table in this meeting.

And now we have @USAmbUN @LindaT_G, who has her own framework (core areas of focus) to deliver peace in Africa:
1. Human Rights and Development
2. Continued cooperation on conflict resolution
3. Efforts to address the global spike in food and energy prices.

She delivers a lofty quote and then introduces the US Strategy. "We believe Africa will shape the future, not just for Africa, but for the world." She praises the AU and looks forward to its growing role.

She then defends the UN's arms embargo rules applied to Africa.

She then moves on to the food security crisis in Africa saying that she heard a lot about it during her recent visit to te continent - and blames it "squarely and solely" on Russia.

And now Russia. Which acknowledges the problems and quickly remarks about international actor interference raising Libya.

He raises the Western emphasis on democracy and freemarket economic models, and questions whether it necessarily applis in post-colonial Africa.

On the imperative of "siliencing the guns" he points to the sidelining of local actors during recent conflicts in Libya and South Sudan.

He questions some arms embargoes, suggesting that they may be worsening the situation in some conflicts.

Thread fix.....

This thread on the UNSC Africa Peace and Security Open Debate continues here >>

https://twitter.com/althecat/status/1557012314389454848?s=20&t=H04kqEKmblte0VD168A4ZA