overnments are the primary duty-bearers in the world. But when institutions are unable to meet their responsibilities, the consequences extend far beyond borders. Social cohesion fractures. Economies weaken. Human security erodes. It impacts us all.
The common argument that countries in the Global South should independently finance their own education systems, healthcare, water, sanitation, and infrastructure may sound fiscally and logically prudent. But it ignores history—and entrenches inequality.
Africa, for instance, holds roughly 30% of the world’s known mineral reserves, including cobalt, diamonds, and platinum group metals. Yet hundreds of billions of dollars leave the continent annually through debt servicing, profit repatriation, and unequal trade structures. During the colonial era, trillions were extracted.
The paradox is clear: extraordinary natural wealth goes out, constraining public investment within. When capital flows outward, classrooms remain unbuilt. Clinics lack medicine. Infrastructure stalls. This is not a failure of ambition. It is the result of global economic systems that have yet to deliver equitable distribution.
Sovereignty requires economic capacity. Without it, governments cannot fulfill their obligations to their citizens. Civil society, multilateral institutions, and responsible private sector actors play an essential role—not as substitutes for the state, but as partners reinforcing it. Development cooperation is not charity. It is commitment to human rights and enlightened self- and national interest.
Instability does not respect borders. Conflict, pandemics, climate shocks, and displacement ripple outward. Investment in education, health systems, and infrastructure strengthens global stability for all.
A rules–based international order respecting international law and the full spectrum of human rights is the only sustainable foundation for peace and security. Until the international community delivers on these imperatives, international cooperation must expand—not retreat.
The greatest illusion of our time is that power belongs to a few. It does not. Power is shared. Responsibility is shared. When we recognize this truth, we move from fragility to stability. In an interconnected world, our destinies are already linked.
I stood in classrooms without roofs, met communities without homes, heard the screams of the wounded without a doctor.
We can continue to debate responsibility.
Or we can share it.
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Shared power, shared responsibility
Capetown, South Africa. Image via Adobe Stock.
April 9, 2026
Debates on who holds what responsibilities in a rules-based international order ignore history and contemporary reality. In a world where power is shared, responsibility must be as well—and we must reverse the trend of retreat from international obligations, writes Yasmine Sherif.
G
overnments are the primary duty-bearers in the world. But when institutions are unable to meet their responsibilities, the consequences extend far beyond borders. Social cohesion fractures. Economies weaken. Human security erodes. It impacts us all.
The common argument that countries in the Global South should independently finance their own education systems, healthcare, water, sanitation, and infrastructure may sound fiscally and logically prudent. But it ignores history—and entrenches inequality.
Africa, for instance, holds roughly 30% of the world’s known mineral reserves, including cobalt, diamonds, and platinum group metals. Yet hundreds of billions of dollars leave the continent annually through debt servicing, profit repatriation, and unequal trade structures. During the colonial era, trillions were extracted.
The paradox is clear: extraordinary natural wealth goes out, constraining public investment within. When capital flows outward, classrooms remain unbuilt. Clinics lack medicine. Infrastructure stalls. This is not a failure of ambition. It is the result of global economic systems that have yet to deliver equitable distribution.
Sovereignty requires economic capacity. Without it, governments cannot fulfill their obligations to their citizens. Civil society, multilateral institutions, and responsible private sector actors play an essential role—not as substitutes for the state, but as partners reinforcing it. Development cooperation is not charity. It is commitment to human rights and enlightened self- and national interest.
Instability does not respect borders. Conflict, pandemics, climate shocks, and displacement ripple outward. Investment in education, health systems, and infrastructure strengthens global stability for all.
A rules–based international order respecting international law and the full spectrum of human rights is the only sustainable foundation for peace and security. Until the international community delivers on these imperatives, international cooperation must expand—not retreat.
The greatest illusion of our time is that power belongs to a few. It does not. Power is shared. Responsibility is shared. When we recognize this truth, we move from fragility to stability. In an interconnected world, our destinies are already linked.
I stood in classrooms without roofs, met communities without homes, heard the screams of the wounded without a doctor.
We can continue to debate responsibility.
Or we can share it.
