G7 wind up summit with criticism of China, Russia, Iran

LONDON: The Group of Seven wealthy democracies on Wednesday wrapped up their first in-person meeting in more than two years, accusing China of human rights abuses and a crackdown on pro-democracy figures, while voicing fears about Russian aggression against Ukraine.

Foreign ministers from hosts Britain, plus the United States, France, Germany, Italy, Canada and Japan also called on Tehran to release foreign and dual nationals they said were being held arbitrarily in Iranian jails. They threatened the Myanmar junta which staged a coup in February with fresh sanctions, in a wide-ranging final communique covering the world´s most pressing geopolitical issues, including climate change and post-pandemic recovery.

The ministers, who met in central London under tight coronavirus restrictions, committed to financially support the vaccine-sharing programme, Covax. But there was no immediate announcement on fresh funding to improve greater access to vaccines, despite repeated calls for the G7 to do more to help poorer countries.

The G7 members´ top diplomats reserved their strongest criticism for rising China, urging the Asian giant to abide by its obligations under international and national law. They said they were “deeply concerned” by human rights violations and abuses against the minority Uyghur Muslim population in Xinjiang province and in Tibet, and urged an end to the targeting of rights protesters in Hong Kong. But it held the door open for future cooperation with Beijing, adding: “We look for opportunities to work with China to promote regional and global peace, security and prosperity.”

The G7 leaders underscored a need for a common stance to tackle global threats, in contrast to the increasing unilateralism of recent years and retreat from global institutions, including under former US president Donald Trump. They called out Russia for what they said was “irresponsible and destabilising behaviour” by amassing troops on the Ukrainian border, “malicious cyber-activity”, disinformation, and malign intelligence activity.

“We... will continue to bolster our collective capabilities and those of our partners to address and deter Russian behaviour that is threatening the rules-based international order,” they said. The G7 countries have slapped sanctions on military generals who deposed the democratically elected leader in Myanmar, Aung San Suu Kyi. But they warned they were ready to “take further steps if the military does not reverse its course”.

Campaigners have urged the G7 to step up efforts to tackle glaring inequalities in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, as despite administering over 1.2 billion doses of Covid-19 vaccines globally, but fewer than one percent have been given in the least developed countries.

Britain´s former prime minister Gordon Brown has said far more is needed and urged the G7 to provide the bulk of $60 billion that he says is needed over the next two years to vaccinate the whole world and aid economic recovery. The grouping has promised more than $10.7 billion already. But there was no extra funding announced.