Can G7 live up to its commitment?

On May 25-26, the G7 Summit held in Ise-Shima, Japan, brought together industrialised nations. Prior to the meeting, the world leaders were led by the host, Japanese PM Shinzo Abe, and visited the Shinto religion’s holiest site, a shrine that is 2,000 years old, which symbolises the spirituality of Japanese people. Currently, G7 members are: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, UK and the US. Russia has been excluded, if not isolated, from what was previously known as the G8, since the annexation of Crimea and orchestrating war in Eastern Ukraine last year. Its action is, of course, prohibited by international law. Any acquisition of part or all of another state’s territory through coercion or force is inconsistent with principles of the UN. The G7 held talks on a wide range of issues, including the global economy, migration and refugees, terrorism, cyber security among others. However, the declaration of the G7 is typically non-binding. The G7 has been widely criticized as it often lacks follow through and excludes important emerging powers. In other words, it is a forum for making beautiful speeches that are never translated into tangible action. In any event, the G7 has a special responsibility to lead international efforts to tackle pressing global challenges. In this regard, I wish to focus my attention on four issues, among others, the global economy, migration and refugees,terrorism, and cyber security. On the issue of the world economy, as the G7 embarks on turning around world economy, serious commitment is needed, especially investing in areas of conducive economic growth, such as environment,energy, digital economy, human resource development, education, science and technology. To achieve this it needs to strengthencooperative efforts in the manner that facilitates the implementation of the above. In particular, there’s a need to support quality infrastructure investment in the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), including African countries. Change of quality of life depends on tangible action not mere promises. Another big challenge our world faces is the growing cyber-threat. Today, no single nation is immune to cyber-attack—whether developed or developing. As G7 commits itself to strongly buttress an open, interoperable, and secure cyberspace as one essential foundation for economic growth and prosperity, more should equally be done to ensure the security and stability of cyberspace. By supporting the Least Developed Countries (LDCs) to build strong critical infrastructure to ensure the free flow of information to ensure openness, transparency and freedom of the internet, while respecting privacy and data protection and, most importantly, cybersecurity. Cyberspace safety is contingent upon the robustness of the cyber-security. And this is not an issue to be addressed by government acting alone. It needs collaborative efforts of the entire world, but the G7 need to take a leadership role in that respect. It is a multifaceted discipline that requires teamwork to succeed. Furthermore, the G7 must collaborate with stakeholders in business, academia and civil society to promote global internet security, openness and resiliency. The other challenge is terrorism and violent extremism. This is the biggest challenge of all. Because it’s a denial of the right to life. The right to life has been described as the ‘supreme’ or ‘foundational’ right. Efforts to ensure other rights can be of little consequence if the right to life is threatened. Though no country is immune to terrorism, the G7 should likewise spearhead condemning and combating terrorism in all forms and manifestations. There’re increasing attacks, atrocities and abuses of human rights targeting civilians in various places of the world, such as in Somalia, Nigeria, Kenya, Middle East to name but a few. The most notorious terrorist groups are: ISIL, AlQaeda, Boko Haram, Al Shabaab and others. Terrorism poses a serious threat to international peace and security, as well as to common values and principles for all humanity.The right to life is a well-established and developed part of international law. Nonetheless, due to terrorism, life remains worthless in many parts of the world. But this is absolutely not true. Life is a God-given right and no one should put it to an end. Like other challenges noted above, the G7 should spearhead the fight against terrorism. And the most effective means of countering terrorism, at a global or regional level, is to cooperate and coordinate efforts designed to deal with it. It’s true to say it is a scourge that can never be defeated by a country—acting individually. It’s a threat to every country—big or small—rich or poor—developed or developing. Therefore, it needs all nations to synergize their efforts, plus engaging the private sector, civil society and communities, in combating terrorism. Lastly, migration and refugees crisis. Today, the world has been transfixed by the unfolding refugee crisis in Europe, an influx of migrants unprecedented since World War II. A question is: why do people flee their countries—Syria, Libya, Iraq, Yemen and Afghanistan? The answer is conflicts. What caused these conflicts? Believe me, or not, Western Powers, in one way or another, are responsible. To address this crisis, the G7 should treat the cause,rather than the symptoms. The writer is an International Law Expert.

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Can G7 live up to its commitment?