President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said on Tuesday (24) that, in an attempt to solve the planet’s problems, world leaders are going in circles and achieving inefficient results. Opening the heads of state debate at the 79th UN General Assembly in New York, Lula commented on the Pact for the Future, a document adopted by countries to strengthen global cooperation:
“Its difficult approval demonstrates the weakening of our collective capacity for negotiation and dialogue. Its limited scope is also an expression of the paradox of our time: we go in circles between possible commitments that lead to insufficient results,” Lula said.
“Not even with the tragedy of COVID-19 were we able to unite around a Treaty on Pandemics at the World Health Organization. We need to go much further and equip the UN with the necessary means to face changes in the international landscape,” the president added.
For Lula, the crisis in global governance requires structural transformations, and this mission falls to the General Assembly, “the greatest expression of multilateralism.” According to him, who is about to turn 80, the United Nations Charter has never undergone a comprehensive reform. When the UN was founded, there were 51 countries; today there are 193.
“The current version of the Charter does not address some of the most pressing challenges facing humanity,” Lula said, citing the various armed conflicts that exist in the world, “with the potential to become widespread confrontations.”
According to the Brazilian president, when the UN was created, several nations, especially on the African continent, were under colonial rule and “had no voice in their goals and operations.” Lula also believes that there is no gender balance in the highest positions, and the post of Secretary-General has never been held by a woman.
“We are reaching the end of the first quarter of the 21st century with the United Nations increasingly empty and paralyzed. Point adjustments are not enough; we need to contemplate a broad review of the Charter,” he said.
For Lula, reforming the UN Security Council is urgent to include adequate representation of emerging countries. Today, this council, which has the power to make important decisions on international conflicts, has only the United States, Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom as permanent members. According to the rules, for a resolution to be approved, it needs the support of nine of the 15 total members, and none of the permanent members can veto the text.
“The exclusion of Latin America and Africa from permanent seats on the Security Council is an unacceptable echo of domination practices from the colonial past,” said the Brazilian.
This is the ninth time President Lula has opened the general debate of heads of state. During his two previous terms, he participated in the event every year from 2003 to 2009. In 2010, he was represented by then-Foreign Minister and current special advisor to the Presidency, Celso Amorim. Last year, in his third term, Lula also opened the debate session.
Source: Agência Brasil