Why defend multilateralism?
Monique Chemillier-Gendreau
Monique Chemillier-Gendreau is professor emeritus of public law and political science at Paris Cité University, specialist in international law, and practitioner in international courts. She is the author of, among other publications, Rendre impossible un État palestinien. L’objectif d’Israël depuis sa création (Textuel, 2025); Pour un Conseil mondial de la résistance (Textuel, 2020); Régression de la démocratie et déchaînement de la violence (Textuel, 2019); and De la guerre à la communauté universelle. Entre droit et politique (Fayard, 2013).
On Tuesday, March 24th, 2026, we had the pleasure of welcoming Monique Chemillier-Gendreau, Professor Emerita of Public Law and Political Science, for a conference devoted to multilateralism in the current geopolitical context. This event was prepared and presented by Rony Brauman.
By endorsing the ‘Board of Peace’ on November 17th through the Resolution 2803, the United Nations Security Council entered into direct conflict with another UN body, the International Court of Justice, and the principles it strongly reiterated in its Opinion of July 19th, 2024. Furthermore, ignoring the various resolutions it had previously voted on, the Security Council trampled on international law by siding with the United States, which makes no secret of its ambition to compete with and subjugate the UN.
The days when the UN offered a multilateral façade are over. Humanitarian workers are well placed to know that behind the scenes, the picture was not so rosy. Multilateralism as a façade did little to conceal the reality of the Security Council as a directorate of the powerful, and the results of the many deployments of so-called peacekeeping forces were very meagre. The fact remains that the threat to UN agencies posed by budget cuts is already causing significant damage. The UNHCR, WHO and WFP fulfil essential roles that no one else can take over, while the International Criminal Court is the target of unprecedented attacks.
Should we therefore see this erosion of multilateralism as the beneficial unveiling of a logic of domination that had previously been disguised, with the corollary of the disappearance of vital assistance? Do the wars in the DRC, Sudan and Palestine, and violent oppressive regimes, mark the failure of international law? In short, beyond its humanitarian agencies, is the UN nothing more than fiction, reassuring for some, hypocritical for others?
We discussed these issues with Monique Chemillier-Gendreau, professor emeritus of public law and political science at Paris Cité University, specialist in international law, and practitioner in international courts. She is the author of, among other publications, Rendre impossible un État palestinien. L’objectif d’Israël depuis sa création (Textuel, 2025); Pour un Conseil mondial de la résistance (Textuel, 2020); Régression de la démocratie et déchaînement de la violence (Textuel, 2019); and De la guerre à la communauté universelle. Entre droit et politique (Fayard, 2013).
To cite this content :
Monique Chemillier-Gendreau, “Why defend multilateralism?”, 24 mars 2026, URL : https://msf-crash.org/en/conferences-debates/why-defend-multilateralism
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