“The accusation that the West practises double standards in its dealings with the rules-based international order is ubiquitous at present. Government representatives from countries of the ‘Global South’ criticise Western countries for officially committing to international rules and principles, but failing to comply with them adequately or implementing them inconsistently in their foreign policy. In April 2024, the then defence minister and current president of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto, complained that when it comes to working for peace in the world, the West has “one set of principles for Ukraine and another set of principles for the Palestinians”.
The accusation of Western double standards is by no means new. Decision-makers from the Global South have been criticising Americans and Europeans for decades for acting contrary to the rules and norms enshrined in international treaties to which the West officially feels bound. The US-led war in Iraq was incompatible with the principle of territorial integrity; European migration agreements with North African autocrats contradicted the West’s commitment to promoting democracy and human rights; and the recent experience of ‘vaccine apartheid’ proves that the promise to “leave no one behind” enshrined in the Agenda 2030 and the UN Development Goals is nothing more than lip service for many Western countries. Added to this is the perceived unwillingness of the West to reform international organisations in such a way that countries of the Global South are adequately represented. (…)
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https://internationalepolitik.de/de/westliche-doppelstandards-prinzipien-unter-beschuss