Dr Noeleen Heyzer, former United Nations (UN) Under-Secretary General and recently appointed UN Special Envoy on Myanmar, delivered her inaugural lecture as IPS’ 10th S R Nathan Fellow for the Study of Singapore on Tuesday, 16 November.
Titled “Grand Transitions: Our Multilateral Journey”, Dr Heyzer’s lecture reflected on Singapore’s journey in the multilateral global order, the need for multilateral governance to be continually informed by successes and failures at pivotal moments of transition, and what it means to have a mindset of “solidarity as self-interest”.
This is the first of a three-part IPS-Nathan lecture series themed Singapore and Multilateral Governance: Securing Our Future, in which Dr Heyzer examines how Singapore can continue to contribute to multilateral governance amid 21st century global challenges.
The Multilateral Moment
Dr Heyzer described the origins of present-day multilateral governance in the period after the Second World War. World leaders of 50 nations had convened in San Francisco in 1945, in the aftermath of countless atrocities, death and devastation both committed and witnessed in history’s deadliest war, to envision an inclusive, rule-based multilateral world order led by the US, based on mutual trust and cooperation.
“This was the multilateral moment that transformed our world, based on a recognition of the need for justice and respect for international law, promising to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, from the propensity of the human species for self-destruction,” she said.
The outcome of the 1945 conference was the UN Charter, the foundational treaty and cornerstone of the United Nations, which Dr Heyzer termed an “exceptional achievement of solidarity”. Seven decades later, the UN, its institutions and the international norms it upheld, have largely delivered independence, peace, prosperity, justice, human rights, hope and support for people around the world, she said.
However, she also cautioned that the UN’s aspirations have also left many others feeling marginalised and left behind, and who face a bleak future characterised by uncertainty and anxiety, if the world does not act fast.
“Guardian of the Charter”: Successes, Failures and Lessons of the United Nations
Citing UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ address at the opening of the General Assembly to commemorate the 75th anniversary of the UN, Dr Heyzer raised five imminent threats in the 21st century: global geostrategic tensions; the climate crisis; deep and growing global mistrust; the dark side of the digital world; and the global COVID-19 pandemic.
With these in mind, Dr Heyzer reflected on the UN’s pursuit and practice of multilateral governance, success and failures as well as lessons learnt for the way forward. The UN’s multilateral governance operates along four pathways, she said, the first of which was peace and security — creating a system of collective security based on negotiation and mediation rather than force, except in self-defence or as authorised by the UN Security Council.
Dr Heyzer raised the example of the late UN Secretary-General U Thant, whose efforts in preventive diplomacy was instrumental in averting the Cuban missile crisis in the early 1960s. U Thant’s appointment to the UN coincided with the post-war wave of decolonisation, where newly independent states joined the UN as equal members, leading him to view the active protection and safeguarding of diversity — and its acceptance and tolerance — as critical in preserving peaceful co-existence, global security as well as democracy.
The second pathway, independence, addressed the UN’s role in accrediting and recognising these politically independent and sovereign nation states. This came with the expectation that these nation states would be aligned with the values of the UN Charter and act as what Dr Heyzer termed “responsible global citizens”.
She raised Singapore as a demonstrative example. After its expulsion from the Federation of Malaysia, Singapore applied to and was admitted as the UN’s 117th member state. This allowed the new republic to obtain not only global legitimacy of its sovereignty, but also institutional support from the UN such as soft loans, technical assistance and expert advice towards nation-building. Singapore would later contribute to the work of the UN and to multilateral governance in turn.
In this, Dr Heyzer recalled the words used by then Foreign Minister of Singapore S Rajaratnam: “It is practical self-interest and not vague idealism which makes it necessary for my country to give loyal support to these essential elements in the UN Charter.”
Development is the UN’s third pathway of multilateral governance, through which it tries to persuade countries to pursue progressive economic and social policies that also improve the well-being of their populations. For Dr Heyzer, this was especially important during post-WWII decolonisation as well as the beginning of the end of the Cold War era, during which the UN and its institutions were charged with helping newly independent countries emerge from the economic and social ravages of colonialism, and bringing nations together to work for collective economic and social progress.
To this, Dr Heyzer raised the importance of political leaders and policymakers across the world making choices towards good governance, to ensure that human development was prioritised over political power and economic growth alone.
Reflecting on Asia and the “Asian Miracle”, Dr Heyzer shared that Asian states had achieved rapid economic growth, become a hub for international trade, investment, technology and innovation and had expanded the educated and middle class. However, too many people are still left behind. She cited how Asia accounts for about 30 per cent of the global population living in extreme poverty, and how 51 per cent of the world’s undernourished people are from the Asia-Pacific region, with nearly a billion working in poorly paid jobs in the informal sector without social protection. These are figures that are expected to worsen with the COVID-19 pandemic.
Another issue that Dr Heyzer raised was the digital transformation of the global economy, which has contributed to skewed and imbalanced wealth concentration never-before-seen in human history, she said. Deepening economic, social and political inequalities threaten social cohesion, sustainable growth as well as public trust and confidence, while fuelling social anxieties and discontent, she said, raising the 2008 global financial crisis as an example. The crisis created worldwide pressures for greater transparency, stronger corporate governance and accountability in the financial and banking sectors, which led to questions about the value of global governance and its institutions.
With the increasing concern for the quality of governance in both developed and developing countries, the UN’s fourth pathway, human rights, has also come under pressure, said Dr Heyzer. Turning her attention to corporate entities, she opined that the “Factory Asia” model of providing cheap and abundant labour to the world to produce consumer goods rapidly and at very low cost, has led to a race to the bottom. This has compromised the economic and social rights of people, be it safety, health and labour standards or wider problems such as haze, deforestation and factory disasters, such as the 2013 Rana Plaza incident.
Dr Heyzer expressed that the economy should be factored more intimately into international agenda setting and decision-making:
“It requires a rethinking of the interdependence between the economy, people and planet — a shift from the quantity of growth mindset to generate profit at any cost, to a quality of growth mindset that considers the well-being of the people and the planet.”
In this regard, the UN plays an important role in determining international norms on human rights, labour and the environment, said Dr Heyzer, citing UN conventions and agreements such as the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Labour Organization (ILO) Declaration on Fundamental Principles and Rights at Work.
As the centre and powerhouse of the global economic recovery, Asia must rethink and change its development script, shifting from short-term self-interest to long-term collective interest. It needs to invest in areas such as human, city and community development, food and environmental safety, and sustainable energy systems. It should also build opportunities for productive as well as fair and equitable work, with the business sector taking the lead. Globally, this would also allow Asia to play a critical role in rebuilding solidarity, and in the stewardship of the global commons and global public goods.
Solidarity as Self-Interest
Dr Heyzer concluded by emphasising the importance of solidarity and cooperation among all countries to face the five aforementioned threats of the 21st century: global geostrategic tensions; the climate crisis; deep and growing global mistrust; the dark side of the digital world; and the global COVID-19 pandemic. These threats have led to interlocking disruptions and the weakening of solidarity, as countries, especially powerful ones, have begun to act more out of self-interest than collective good.
Speaking on Singapore, Dr Heyzer discussed how despite its small size, Singapore has become a force to reckon with in the region and the world due to its strategic ability to build strength in numbers, especially within the UN. Examples mentioned include the Forum of Small States in the UN, an informal grouping of small states that was initiated by Singapore in 1992. Dr Heyzer felt that ultimately, Singapore’ strategy in multilateral governance had been largely underpinned by vulnerability and its “price-taker” status, and urged the city-state to fully embrace “solidarity as self-interest”.
The world is at a dangerous crossroads in its multilateral journey, she said, and a deepening of solidarity and revitalisation of multilateral governance will be essential to effectively mobilise shared solutions — not just towards the collective good, but the self-interests of individual countries.
Question-and-Answer Session
The session was moderated by Mr Ho Kwon Ping, Executive Chairman of Banyan Tree Holdings Limited and IPS’ 1st S R Nathan Fellow for the Study of Singapore.
Questions centred on the relevance of the UN, such as in negotiating geopolitical tensions, mitigating the impact of COVID-19 and vaccine nationalism especially on poorer countries.
Dr Heyzer responded that indeed, historic events such as the September 11 attacks, the invasion of Iraq and the 2008 global financial crisis have broken global public trust, created suspicion of “the other” and weakened public perception of multilateralism. She reiterated a point she made earlier, that countries, including member states of the UN, need to use their powers more wisely, and practise good governance that prioritises issues of human development. In particular, the unprecedented scale of displacement and migration of people as a result of these events has been met by fear and insecurity in both developed and developing countries, which need to be addressed.
On the issue of COVID-19, Dr Heyzer raised the UN’s role in the COVAX initiative by way of the World Health Organization, which helped coordinate the manufacturing and equitable distribution of vaccines to less developed countries. In the midst of geopolitical tensions including between the US and China, she highlighted the UN Secretary-General’s determination in pushing for a global ceasefire towards vaccine access to conflict-affected countries, and appealing to the Group of Twenty (G20) to facilitate vaccine manufacturing in poorer countries.
To another question on the role of civil society in the UN’s work on multilateral governance, particularly in terms of diversity and human rights, Dr Heyzer replied that the UN has helped mobilise civil society. She gave the example of the 4th World Conference on Women in 1995, which saw 30,000 women groups in attendance. Civil society has a major role to play in surfacing ground realities — issues of practice, implementation and accountability — beyond what is written and signed on paper. This is important in helping the UN keep member states accountable and connected to the ground and its solutions.
Regarding the role of ASEAN in multilateral governance, Dr Heyzer talked about the UN’s work with ASEAN and how their agendas are connected, as shown in the complementarity of the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with ASEAN Community Vision 2025. However, she also raised concerns over ASEAN’s internally differing interests and strategies, which has led to slow decision-making. As to what could improve, Dr Heyzer brought up former ASEAN Secretary-General Surin Pitsuwan’s idea of moving away from consensus-based decision-making to that of a “coalition of the willing” who would take responsibility for actions taken.
Finally, replying to a question about Singapore’s present and future role in multilateral governance and the UN, Dr Heyzer related Singapore’s present role in mobilising the voices of small states through the establishment of the Forum of Small States, and its position as Chair of the Global Governance Group to influence decision-making in the G20. In future, Singapore could set a regional and global example in terms of ensuring cybersecurity in an increasingly digitalised world. These moves would do well in the context of building solidarity as self-interest.
Click here to watch the video of lecture I.