The BRICS Leaders’ Declaration, released this Sunday (6) during the bloc’s meeting in Rio de Janeiro, brings together the interests of Brazil, India, and African countries to become permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UN). The inclusion of the different bids for the Council was one of the points of tension among the BRICS member countries to finalize the declaration.
The section on the matter first cites the BRICS’s general recognition of “the legitimate aspirations of African countries, as reflected in the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration”.
The Sirte Declaration was responsible for creating the African Union in 1999. The Ezulwini Consensus, from 2005, is the position adopted by the African Union to expand the Security Council with two permanent seats with veto power for Africa, plus five non-permanent seats. All should be chosen by the African Union itself.
The other sentence in the current BRICS declaration on the topic specifies only the support of China and Russia, in line with the Beijing Leaders’ Declarations (2022) and Johannesburg II (2023), “for the aspirations of Brazil and India to play a more relevant role in the United Nations, including its Security Council”.
Both positions are accompanied by the defense of making the Security Council “more democratic, representative, effective, and efficient, and increasing the representation of developing countries in the Council’s membership framework so that it can adequately respond to prevailing global challenges and support the legitimate aspirations of emerging and developing countries”.
Strengthening Multilateralism
The final BRICS declaration under Brazilian presidency also calls for reforming Bretton Woods institutions to “make them more agile, effective, reliable, inclusive, and appropriate”. The Bretton Woods Agreement marks the creation of an international monetary system for the post-war period, in 1944, which includes the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank.
The voice of Developing and Emerging Market countries must reflect their weight in the global economy, the document states. In this regard, it advocates for the IMF to particularly support the most fragile countries and increase the proposed quotas within the 16th General Review of Quotas (GRQ).
Regarding the World Bank, it supports the 2025 World Bank Shareholding Review, co-chaired by Brazil. It is indicated as a crucial tool to strengthen multilateralism and increase the legitimacy of the World Bank Group.
As already anticipated in the document of finance ministers and central bank governors, BRICS states that there is a “crossroads” in the multilateral trade system. Without directly naming the United States, but in clear reference to measures adopted by the Donald Trump administration, the document condemns the unilateral imposition of tariffs.
“The proliferation of trade-restrictive actions, whether in the form of indiscriminate tariff increases and non-tariff measures, or in the form of protectionism disguised as environmental objectives, threatens to further reduce global trade, disrupt global supply chains, and introduce uncertainty into international economic and commercial activities,” states one of the sections.
“We emphasize that the WTO, on its 30th anniversary, remains the only multilateral institution with the mandate, expertise, universal reach, and capacity to lead discussions on the multiple dimensions of international trade, including the negotiation of new trade rules,” states another section.
Still on the topic of multilateralism, BRICS calls for increased investment in the World Health Organization (WHO).
“A robust and adequately funded WHO is essential to effectively address current and future public health challenges, mitigate inequalities, and ensure equitable access for all to health services, including medicines and vaccines, especially in developing countries,” the document states.
“We recognize the adoption of the WHO Pandemic Agreement by the 78th World Health Assembly. The Agreement will solidify the foundations for a safer and more equitable world against future pandemics. We are ready to carry this momentum forward and ensure a timely conclusion of the negotiations led and conducted by member states for the Annex to the Pathogen Access and Benefit-Sharing Agreement,” the text adds.
Source: Agência Brasil