G20 and COP29: must-watch theater of the absurd

From the perspective of international diplomacy, November 2024 will take a special place in history. The events of G20, COP29 and the International Criminal Court (ICC) ruling appear uncut, raw and uncensored, revealing the true essence of what are considered by many as powerful platforms related to international affairs. They indeed are important and paint an accurate picture of the power, strength, solidarity and glamour but this year they also break the proscenium arch and have shown the world what few like me keep reiterating time and again.

Let's begin with G20-2024 where the world leaders gathered to discuss pressing contemporary issues. However, for the first time in the history of G20, a layman got a clear understanding of the summit of this sort, where American President Joe Biden, while wandering in the Amazon, suddenly appeared behind a tree and decided to attack Russia with long-range missiles. He wandered away while the group photo was being taken, providing a historic opportunity of a G20 group photo without the biggest hegemon. The mood and ambiance, the disorientation, and the derangement were so apparent that it became an impossible task for the Western media to present it as the event of the year. At the China-UK sideline meeting, Prime Minister Keir Starmer lectured the Chinese, and President Xi Jinping's gestural humiliation of that lecture was phenomenal.

There is anger and agitation among the Global North leaders over the losing maneuverability for not having a West-aligned communiqué out of G20. Their inability to sway the world leaders to condemn Russia and appreciate Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was a testament to their global isolation. The total debacle and its naked display lift any remaining layers of the dust of superiority and supremacy. ICC, a Western institution cherished for being the epitome of a role-based world order, finally decided to reset its integrity by giving a just and non-political verdict that Netanyahu is a genocidal maniac. The same ICC – which was showered with praise and acknowledgment when President Vladimir Putin in a politically motivated verdict was pronounced a criminal although neither Ukraine nor Russia are signatories to the Rome Statute – is now being defamed by the same lot. It's because they could never expect that an institution which they nurture to weaponise is acting independently. We can call it karma. In my understanding, ICC will be sanctioned and will get economically choked for not doing the bidding of its masters. The entire event too was so apparent and exposed that the claim of Western institutions being universal saviours of rule-based order has turned into ashes once and for all.

COP29 is what I always found difficult to distinguish from the Met Gala: the world elite on their private jets reaching a conference to discuss the impact of fossil fuels and carbon emissions. This year this West-led institution got to see the mirror and panicked at the sight of its reflection. COP is a voluntary arrangement to provide financial assistance to countries in need. Getting the big capitalist market to share the burden is a usual practice here, but this time developing countries decided not to take that charity in the form of loans and demanded doubling the suggested amount. The EU and the US which are the world's biggest carbon emission producers were asked to pay their fair share to counter climate change in the form of climate action, climate control and climate adaptation. The use of fossil fuels as a taboo subject was fairly tackled by Azerbaijan President Ilham Aliyev, the host of the event, by stating that oil and gas are a gift of God and that they should not be expected to be apologetic about it. He also reminded the media that the US is pumping most of the oil in the world but the Western media calls Azerbaijan a petro-state. This was a slap on Western hypocrisy demanding fossil fuel reductions but using even coal among all other fuels and emitting maximum amount of carbon into the atmosphere.

The presence of the Afghan Taliban at the event was also a subject of discussion in Western media, as to why the terrorists were invited to discuss climate issues. The answer to that is: even terrorists have the duty and the right to save the planet Earth. Furthermore, the Taliban are responsible for drought-stricken Afghanistan, apart from aiding and abetting terrorist activities in Pakistan for economic reasons. But making Afghanistan a safe haven for extremist outfits has nothing to do with the Afghan population being in dire need of assistance due to climate change catastrophes. So, as far as their political and diplomatic maturity is concerned, Pakistan is hopeful that the Taliban will learn the statecraft.

The three episodes one after another have put the last nail in the coffin of the old system and its institutions. These fancy galas are obsolete and redundant, they just facilitated Western exceptionalism in the past but now the global majority wants to get rid of them and is looking for a platform for practical and impartial solutions. This exposure has no conspiracy behind it. These institutions were supposed to expose themselves after operating brazenly for decades, finally turning into a theatrical display – indeed a must-watch theater of the absurd.