Editorial | UN Week highlights Finland’s contradictory development policy

Ythe general assembly of advanced nations is now gathering world leaders in New York in quite contradictory moods. The role of the UN as a maintainer of peace and security seems to be waning, and the UN system seems incapable of adapting to the time of geopolitical competition.

At the heart of the crisis in the UN system is the Security Council. Its work is paralyzed by the fact that one of the five permanent members, Russia, illegally invaded Ukraine with the tacit support of another permanent member, China.

The Finnish delegation at the General Assembly is led by President Alexander Stubb. He already told what he will bring when he comes to New York. In Stubb’s opinion, the right of veto of the permanent members of the Security Council should be abandoned and the number of council members should be increased.

Stubb’s line is reasonable and has been heard many times. However, the president himself knows that the proposal will not get support. It is about Finland’s campaigning for a Security Council seat and showing that the demands of the global south are being heard.

Reforming the Security Council is an eternal problem. It is also being tried to be solved at the UN future summit, which is organized simultaneously with the high-level general assembly. A proper record of reforming the Security Council is unlikely to be found in the final document of the future summit either.

Yin the speeches of the heads of state held one after the other at the public meeting, it is communicated who belongs to which camp. Russia’s interpretations of the war in Ukraine and China’s positions on the new world order speak quite widely to the countries of the global south. The tightening situation in the Middle East supports accusations that Western countries apply two different rules on a case-by-case basis.

Stubb has phrased this battle of spirits as, when the global West and East fight for power, the global South decides which way the scale will tilt. In the UN, these developing countries of Africa, Asia and Latin America organize themselves into the G77 group of developing countries. It includes more than two-thirds of the UN member states.

Stubb’s line includes the desire to increase Finland’s global influence. The President’s speeches and emphases provide an interesting contrast to Prime Minister Petteri Orpo’s (kok) government’s relationship with development policy and the global south.

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Development, economy and security are linked together.

Finland now has the foreign policies of the president, the coalition and the basic Finns. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has two ministers, Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen (kok) and Trade and Development Minister Ville Tavio (ps), both of whom also participate in the UN meeting. For basic Finns, breaking away from development aid is one of the main goals of the government.

For domestic political reasons, it has been particularly important for Tavio to cut off funding to Somalia. The government of Somalia’s development aid linked it to whether Somalia will accept its citizens who have been deported by Finland.

Somalia has bigger problems, and Finland’s threats to cut off development aid will not ease it. Basic Finns seek points from their basic supporters. Either aid to Somalia will be stopped or Somalia will accept a few Somalis deported from Finland. Either option can be presented as a win.

SUomen’s petty politicking collides with the geopolitical big game of the rytis. Development, economy and security are all interconnected. In various contexts, the West is equal to the South, so that it can dam the threat from the East.

For strategic reasons, a partnership with Somalia, for example, is of interest to many middle-class powers, such as Turkey, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates. For the EU, the countries of the Horn of Africa are a geostrategic priority.

Since the turn of the year, Somalia is one of the rotating members of the Security Council, together with Denmark, Greece, Pakistan and Panama. Finland is seeking a seat on the Security Council for the following term – with very conflicting messages.

The editorials are HS’s positions on a current topic. The articles are prepared by HS editorial staff, and they reflect the magazine principle line.