New York. It is “unacceptable” that Latin America and Africa do not have a permanent seat on the Security Council, denounced this Tuesday the president of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, before the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN).
“The exclusion of Latin America and Africa from permanent seats on the Security Council is an unacceptable echo of the practices of domination of the colonial past,” denounced Lula, recalling that “we are reaching the end of the first quarter of the 21st century with the United Nations. increasingly emptied and paralyzed”.
It is time, he said, to “restore to the organization the prerogatives inherent to its status as a universal forum,” and provide it with the necessary means to “face the dizzying changes in the international panorama,” where “anguish, frustration, tensions and fear,” he said.
He called for a “comprehensive review of the Charter” of the UN, the heart of international law, as well as the revitalization of the role of the General Assembly and the reform of the Security Council to make it more effective and representative of “contemporary reality.”
Without greater participation by developing countries in the direction of institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank, “there will be no effective change,” he said.
“I have no illusions about the complexity of a reform like this, which will confront crystallized interests in maintaining the status quo,” he said, after his previous failures to make effective the reform of institutions born almost 80 years ago, at the end of World War II.
Ukraine and Gaza
Lula also referred to the conflicts that devastate the planet, such as those in Ukraine, Gaza, Lebanon, Yemen or Sudan.
Regarding the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he said that “it is clear that none of the parties will achieve all their objectives through military means” so it is “crucial to resume dialogue between the parties” on the basis of the “six-point proposal.” from China and Brazil.
He also condemned the “collective punishment” of the Palestinian people in Gaza by Israel following the “terrorist act of fanatics” against “innocent Israeli civilians” on October 7, which has led to one of the “largest humanitarian crises in recent history” that is “spreading dangerously” to Lebanon.
At the beginning of his speech, Lula welcomed the Palestinian delegation, which for the first time is participating in the General Assembly session as an observer member state, and the president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, amidst applause.
He also attacked gender inequality and “unfulfilled” climate agreements.
Second lost decade
The Brazilian president pledged to present a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) this year aligned with the 1.5 degrees Celsius climate goal and to eradicate the destruction of the Amazon by 2030.
But NGOs such as 350.org denounce that Brazil is expanding oil production, particularly in the Amazon, which will make it the fourth largest oil producer in the world, an “unsustainable position for a country that seeks climate leadership,” they say. .
“Talking about the decarbonization of the economy and the fair energy transition is a pure exercise in rhetoric,” he denounced at the end of his speech.
Brazil will host COP 30 next year.
#Unacceptable #Africa #permanent #seat #Lula
– 2024-09-26 22:30:39
