The ICM Convenes Its First Ambassadorial Board Meeting

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The First Ambassadorial Board Meeting of the Independent Commission on Multilateralism (ICM) took place at the International Peace Institute in New York on May 27. The meeting was chaired by the Right Honorable Kevin Rudd, Chair of the ICM.

During his remarks, Mr. Rudd outlined the ICM’s global outreach with launches in Geneva and Vienna and outreach visits to Ottawa and Madrid. Local outreach engagements have also included bilateral consultations with members of the diplomatic and policy community in New York along with briefings to the UN Regional Groups and select Permanent Missions. This outreach will continue throughout the year.

Participants called the ICM timely, well-structured and a provider of a unique vantage point from which to put forward policy recommendations on how to make the system more “fit for purpose.” They commended the ICM retreats for providing an open space that encouraged ‘blue sky’ thinking and out of the box ideas, bringing together a diverse set of voices and unique perspectives. The atmosphere of congeniality was recognized as a catalyst for free thinking.

In the discussion, participants offered feedback on the ICM’s process thus far and guidance on the process going forward. Among the key recommendations was for the ICM to continue being mindful of existing UN review processes in an effort to avoid duplication and exercise maximize complementarity. The way in which the ICM hopes to distinguish its own report will be with regards to how such policy recommendations can be better implemented by the multiple actors in the multilateral arena.

Mr. Rudd emphasized that today’s challenges require a new innovative multilateral architecture and a novel approach though emphasized the need to tweak existing institutions before attempting to reinvent the wheel. Rather than a specific audit of each of the various players – from the Breton Woods institution to regional organizations – the ICM is dedicated to better understanding the inter-linkages between the UN and such institutions and how to make these linkages more efficient. This is especially crucial when it comes to the implementation of the SDGs, the success of which will depend on an efficient distribution of responsibilities between member states, regional organizations and international financial institutions

Mr. Rudd reiterated his belief in the need to reassert the UN’s position as the core of the multilateral system given its important history, core values, convening power and the ever-relevant raison d’etre of its founders.

List of attendees:

  • H.E. Mr. Kevin Rudd, Chair of the ICM, and former Prime Minister of Australia
  • H.E. Mr. Hardeep Singh Puri, Secretary-General of the ICM
  • H.E. Mr. Amr Abdellatif Aboulatta, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the Arab Republic of Egypt to the United Nations
  • H.E. Mr. Daniele D. Bodini, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the Republic of San Marino to the United Nations
  • Mr. Michael Bonser, Minister Counsellor, Permanent Mission of Canada to the United Nations
  • H.E. Mr. Harald Walter Braun, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Germany to the United Nations
  • H.E. Mr. Fernando Carrera Castro, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Guatemala to the United Nations
  • H.E. Mr. Y. Halit Çevik, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Turkey to the United Nations
  • H.E. Ms. Mirsada Čolaković, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Bosnia and Herzegovina to the United Nations
  • H.E. Mr. Vladimir Drobnjak, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Croatia to the United Nations
  • H.E. Mr. Einar Gunnarsson, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Iceland to the United Nations
  • Mr. ATM Rakebul Haque, Counsellor, Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of Bangladesh to the United Nations
  • H.E. Mr. Olivier Maes, Deputy Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Luxembourg to the United Nations
  • H.E. Mrs. Sofia Mesquita Borges, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste to the United Nations
  • H.E. Mrs. Lana Zaki Nusseibeh, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the United Arab Emirates to the United Nations
  • H.E. Mr. Antonio de Aguiar Patriota, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Brazil to the United Nations
  • H.E. Mr. Geir Pedersen, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Norway to the United Nations
  • H.E. Mr. Desra Percaya, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Indonesia to the United Nations
  • H.E. Mr. Amrith Rohan Perera, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka to the United Nations
  • H.E. Mr. Nawaf Salam, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Lebanon to the United Nations
  • H.E. Mr. Fodé Seck, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Senegal to the United Nations
  • H.E. Mr. Zahir Tanin, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of Afghanistan to the United Nations
  • H.E. Mr. Karel J.G. van Oosterom, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the Kingdom of the Netherlands to the United Nations
  • H.E. Mr. Christian Wenaweser, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the Principality of Liechtenstein to the United Nations
  • H.E. Mr. Jean-Francis Régis Zinsou, Permanent Representative, Permanent Mission of the Republic of Benin to the United Nations