Global governance 全球治理

Africans at the top

More international institutions have sub-Saharan bosses

第一段：

The world’s big multilateral institutions are always keen to trumpet their global outlook. Art from far-flung corners of the world adorns their headquarters—and should a visitor ever need to consult a massive map of the world, one is rarely far away. Yet in one area their global credentials have not always matched up: leadership. Most of the bosses of multilateral institutions have been white men. Sub-Saharan Africans, especially, have been overlooked. Until 2017 only one had led a big multilateral organisation: Kofi Annan, who ran the UN, which rotates its top job by region, from 1997 to 2006.

世界上的大型多边机构总是热衷于鼓吹它们的全球前景。来自世界遥远角落的艺术装饰着他们的总部——如果一个访客需要查阅一幅巨大的世界地图，他很少会离得很远。然而，在一个领域，他们的全球资历并不总是相匹配：领导力。大多数多边机构的老板都是白人男性。撒哈拉以南的非洲人尤其被忽视了。直到2017年，只有科菲·安南领导过一个大型多边组织，他在1997年至2006年期间担任联合国秘书长，并按地区轮换其最高职位。

第二段：

Today Africans lead several global institutions. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, an Ethiopian, has steered the World Health Organisation (WHO) through the pandemic. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, a Nigerian, heads the World Trade Organisation (WTO). Makh tar Diop, a Senegalese, presides over an investment portfolio worth about $64bn at the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the semi-independent arm of the World Bank that invests in private firms. A stitch-up gives the top jobs at the World Bank and IMF to America and Europe. But for just the second time a sub-Saharan African, Antoinette Sayeh of Liberia, is a deputy managing director of the IMF.

今天，非洲人领导着几个全球机构。埃塞俄比亚人特沃德罗斯·阿达诺姆领导世界卫生组织度过了新冠疫情。尼日利亚人恩戈齐·奥孔乔-伊韦阿拉是世界贸易组织的负责人。塞内加尔人马克·塔尔·迪奥普掌管着国际金融公司(IFC)价值约640亿美元的投资组合。IFC是世界银行的半独立机构，负责投资私营企业。美国和欧洲得到了世界银行和国际货币基金组织的最高职位。但是，来自利比里亚的安托瓦内特·塞耶却是第二次担任国际货币基金组织副总裁。

第三段：

Each is highly qualified. Ms Okonjo-Iweala, Mr Diop and Ms Sayeh were all finance ministers and had all worked at the World Bank. Dr Tedros was health minister and then foreign minister. That they all have big jobs at once is partly by chance. But there are signs that governments have deliberately sought Africans to lead big institutions. “There was a lot of feeling that it was Africa’s turn—and that it was the turn for a woman,” says Keith Rockwell, the WTO’s spokesman, of the mood before Ms Okonjo-Iweala’s appointment.

每个人都是高度符合的。Okonjo-Iweala女士，Diop先生和Sayeh女士都是财政部长并且都在世界银行工作过。谭德塞博士先后担任卫生部长和外交部长。他们同时担任要职在一定程度上是偶然的。但有迹象表明，各国政府有意寻求非洲人来领导大型机构。世界贸易组织发言人基思•洛克威尔在谈到奥孔约-伊维拉被任命前的情绪时说:“很多人都觉得该轮到非洲了——该轮到女性了。”

第四段：

This reflects a realisation that the focus of many of these institutions is shifting to sub-Saharan Africa, which has more than two-thirds of the world’s poor and where the average life expectancy is about 61 years, compared with 80 years in rich countries. Although Africa accounts for a small part of global commerce, it has the most to gain from trade. It will probably make up a growing share of the IMF’s work, too. Lending to sub-Saharan countries is 13 times higher since the pandemic struck.

这反映出，许多机构意识到，它们的重心正转向撒哈拉以南非洲地区。该地区的贫困人口占世界总人口的三分之二以上，平均预期寿命约为61岁，而富裕国家为80岁。尽管非洲只占全球贸易的一小部分，但它从贸易中获益最多。它可能也将在国际货币基金组织的工作中占据越来越大的份额。自大流行爆发以来，向撒哈拉以南国家提供的贷款高出13倍。

第五段：

One thing the new bosses may offer is a “special ear” for issues on the continent, says Ms Sayeh. At the very least their leadership is bringing greater attention to Africa.  “I don’t think anyone in the WTO set out to ignore the concerns of Africa,” says Ms Okonjo-Iweala. Nonetheless, she adds, “Africa has not benefited as much from trade integration…as it should have.” In theory many African countries get lower tariffs in richer countries through trade deals allowed under the WTO’s rules. Yet this does not work well in practice. “We really need to look at some of those agreements and make it easier for African countries,” says Ms Okonjo-Iweala. Mr Diop says the IFC has not neglected Africa in the past. Still, it plans to double annual investments on the continent to $10bn in the next few years.

Sayeh女士说，新老板可能会提供的一件事就是为欧洲大陆的问题提供一个“特别的耳朵”。至少，他们的领导给非洲带来了更多的关注。奥孔约-伊维拉表示:“我不认为WTO的任何人一开始就忽视了非洲的关切。”尽管如此，她补充道:“非洲并没有从贸易一体化中得到应有的好处。”理论上，许多非洲国家通过世贸组织规则允许的贸易协议，在富裕国家获得较低的关税。然而，这在实践中并不奏效。奥孔约-伊维拉表示:“我们确实需要研究其中一些协议，让非洲国家更容易达成协议。”迪奥普表示，国际金融公司过去并没有忽视非洲。尽管如此，该公司仍计划在未来几年将在非洲大陆的年投资增加一倍，至100亿美元。

第六段：

Personal experience inevitably shapes leaders' priorities. Dr Tedros lost his brother, who was about four, to what was probably measles. He made similar curable diseases the focus of his campaign to run the WHO, and has prioritised them during his term. When Ebola struck the Democratic Republic of Congo, Dr Tedros visited 14 times, despite the threat from rebels.

个人经历不可避免地决定了领导者的优先事项。谭德塞博士四岁左右的弟弟可能死于麻疹。他将类似的可治愈疾病作为他管理世界卫生组织的活动重点，并在其任期内优先考虑这些疾病。当埃博拉病毒袭击刚果民主共和国时，谭德塞博士不顾叛军的威胁访问了14次。

第七段：

Having Africans in charge of wonk-filled institutions can also provide role models and help overcome racist stereotypes.  “It’s important for people to see an African leading an institution in the economic sphere,” says Ms Okonjo-Iweala.

让非洲人掌管充满书呆子的机构也可以提供榜样，帮助克服种族主义的刻板印象。奥孔约-伊维拉表示:“让人们看到一个非洲人领导着一家经济领域的机构，这很重要。”

第八段：

Dr Tedros was recently nominated unopposed to lead the WHO for a second term. Ms Okonjo-Iweala and Mr Diop doubtless aspire to similar endorsements of their work. Trailblazers sometimes feel extra pressure to succeed, and may be held to an unfairly high standard. Yet not all leaders of global institutions excel. The real sign that Africans have broken through the glass ceiling in international organisations will be when run-of-the-mill leadership by an African generates no more comment than the tepid tenure of a bigwig from Asia, Europe or the Americas.

谭德塞博士最近在无人反对的情况下被提名为世卫组织第二任期领导人。毫无疑问，Okonjo-Iweala女士和Diop先生希望他们的工作能得到类似的认可。先驱者有时会感到额外的成功压力，并可能被要求达到不公平的高标准。然而，并非所有全球机构的领导人都出类拔萃。非洲人打破了国际组织的玻璃天花板的真正迹象是，一个非洲人的普通领导产生的评论，不会超过来自亚洲、欧洲或美洲的大人物的不温不热的任期。