Welcome to the IGO Watch Monthly Update for January!

The New Year started with a large amount of IGO news and activities around the world. We are hoping that IGOs will become more accountable and dedicated to their core missions in 2020. As we are not convinced that day is soon to come, we will continue to track all of their important activities and compile them in our monthly newsletter, making sure that you don’t miss a thing.

In case you missed it last month, make sure you check out our compilation of the biggest abuses by IGOs in 2019 here.

 

A Rocky Start

EU’s failure to take a leading geopolitical role in international affairs has shown that it has not been a great start of the year for new European Union (EU) leadership on the global stage.  Plagued with ongoing international scandals such as an investigation into two former senior diplomats on suspicion of spying for China, as well as accusations of spending $22 million for a road in Eritrea built by forced conscripts, the European bureaucracy demonstrated an obvious inability to actually achieve the influence it seeks (although in some cases this may actually be a good thing). 

On the other hand, what the EU sadly excels at is massive public spending and creating new regulations that hurt European consumers and taxpayers. To ensure funding for the proposed €1 Trillion “Green Deal,” the EU is “asking” European taxpayers to act as guaranteers for the controversial climate funding scheme. On top of the large loss of tax dollars, the “Green Deal” would also have a severe, immediate impact on consumers. The EU will likely create a carbon border tax to supplement this proposal, which would hit U.S. exports of coal, natural gas, steel, and many manufactured products especially hard.

 

UN-Involved in Peace

IGO Watch has frequently reported about the scandalous culture of abuse within the United Nations (UN) system. Unfortunately, we are hearing more examples of atrocities by the day, this time committed by UN peacekeepers in Haiti. It is frivolous to expect any structural reform of the sorry status-quo, in which, instead of protecting the victims, the UN places a priority on silencing the whistleblowers and charging them with misconduct.

In other news, the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNWRA) is just the latest in the long line of UN agencies going through corruption and mismanagement scandals. Here are just some of the reasons why IGO Watch thinks it is time to shut this agency down for good.

 

Global Health and Safety

After a week of extensive meetings, the World Health Organization (WHO) decided to declare the coronavirus outbreak in China a public health emergency of international concern. What first came as a shock to the international community is that the WHO, which has been criticized for its handling of past disease outbreaks, has officially stated in its first risk assessment that the global risk was only  “moderate.”

Unfortunately, there are serious doubts about the WHO’s ability to put the health of the general public as their priority. The organization didn’t even allow Taiwan, an affected country, to attend the emergency meeting because of political pressure by the Chinese authorities.

Meanwhile, the WHO is still spending considerable resources on a new campaign where it is spreading actual lies about tobacco harm reduction. International bureaucrats continue to ignore the benefits of reduced-risk products such as vapes and heat-not-burn devices in helping smokers kick their deadly habit, and irresponsibly hype up the non-existent dangers posed by these products. Stay tuned, as we continue to hold the WHO and other IGOs accountable. 

 

Partner Spotlight

The Greater Mekong Research Center is a non-profit, non-partisan organization with a primary focus on education and information dissemination, committed to original, high quality, independent research that provides innovative, practical solutions to advance individual liberty, limited governments, and free markets. Comprising a global network of legal and economic scholars, Mekong Research works within the classical liberal tradition to promote economic development and human flourishing in the Greater Mekong region (Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and southwestern China). With a primary focus on the transition economies, Mekong Research is committed to building the next generation of regional leaders in business, law and public administration.

 

See Something? Say Something!

We’re always looking for regional coordinators from countries around the world to help us distribute information on social media, write blog posts and op-eds, and provide us with on-the-ground information from their region.

If you have any tips about stories, or would like to become a regional coordinator, please send us an email at this address!

Until next month,

IGO Watch Team

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