The Failure of the Current Multilateral System

The statement contends that global governance is dominated by corporate interests and a few powerful nations, marginalizing the Global South and failing to solve crises like climate change. It criticizes the upcoming Summit of the Future as a likely exercise in maintaining the neoliberal status quo. The authors advocate for a democratic global government that abolishes the UN Security Council veto, restructures the IMF and World Bank, reforms trade and intellectual property regimes to support the Global South, and establishes accountable data and AI governance.

• The current multilateral system, led by the United Nations, is failing to provide solutions for global crises because it is dominated by corporate interests and neocolonial geoeconomic orders, particularly through Big Tech-led development models.
• Existing trade and intellectual property regimes have created a global innovation divide that concentrates the benefits of AI and data within a few firms in the US and China, forcing much of the world to export raw materials and import digital services.
• The authors propose a new global governance structure based on equity and democracy, which includes abolishing the veto power of the five countries on the UN Security Council and decoupling decision-making from wealth in the IMF and World Bank.
• To support development in the Global South, the document calls for a 'fair use doctrine' for trade secrets to allow small businesses access to critical data and the public licensing of foundational AI technologies.
• The document argues that the narrative of unrestricted cross-border data flow serves the interests of dominant players in the digital economy and represents a 'modern-day scramble for digital dominance'.

APA

Prak, C. (2024). The Failure of the Current Multilateral System. Friends of the Earth International. https://www.foei.org/the-failure-of-the-current-multilateral-system/

Chicago

Prak, Caroline. The Failure of the Current Multilateral System. Friends of the Earth International, 2024. https://www.foei.org/the-failure-of-the-current-multilateral-system/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Prak |first1=Caroline |title=The Failure of the Current Multilateral System |publisher=Friends of the Earth International |date=16 September 2024 |url=https://www.foei.org/the-failure-of-the-current-multilateral-system/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{prak2024failure, author = {Prak, Caroline}, title = {{The Failure of the Current Multilateral System}}, publisher = {Friends of the Earth International}, year = {2024}, month = sep, url = {https://www.foei.org/the-failure-of-the-current-multilateral-system/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }