Brazil, 2005

I should like

to extend my warmest congratulations to you, Sir,

Ambassador Jan Eliasson of Sweden, on your

assumption of the presidency of the General Assembly

at its sixtieth session. I should also like to express

fraternal greetings to Secretary-General Kofi Annan,

whose wisdom and commitment to multilateralism

have made an immense contribution to progress here at

the United Nations. Minister Jean Ping of Gabon

deserves special recognition for the competent and

dedicated manner in which he presided over the

General Assembly at its fifty-ninth session.

This is a rare and historic opportunity to promote

change; let us not waste it. Peace, development,

democracy and respect for human rights are objectives

that unite us. Reform must be our motto.

The final document adopted yesterday at the

summit (resolution 60/1) has unquestionably fallen

short of our expectations. However, it provides us with

guidelines that will enable us to carry out our work.

The General Assembly must be strengthened.

More than ever, we need a forum with universal

representation, in which the crucial issues of today’s

world can be democratically debated. The General

Assembly must provide leadership and political

guidance to the Organization as a whole. In supporting

the authority of the General Assembly by enabling it to

act more speedily and be more productive, we are

supporting the very essence of the United Nations.

The Economic and Social Council must again

become a dynamic and influential organ. It must help

us to come together on issues related to trade, finance

and development in an environment free from

prejudice and dogma. The Economic and Social

Council should be a privileged, deliberative forum in

our quest for reconciliation between the objectives of

sustainable economic growth and the reduction of the

inequalities caused by asymmetric globalization.

President Lula suggested this year, at the summit of the

Group of Eight (G-8) at Gleneagles, that we could start

raising the profile of the Economic and Social Council

by organizing a high-level segment, with the

participation of the Finance Minister of the country

holding the G-8 presidency. The Economic and Social

Council must also help to promote peace and stability

in partnership with the Security Council, as provided

for in Article 65 of the Charter.

The establishment of a Peacebuilding

Commission will bridge an important institutional gap.

It will be a link between security and development.

Currently, there is no such link.

The structures and mechanisms of the

Organization in the human rights field must be

improved and reinforced. We support the creation of a

Human Rights Council, based on the principles of

universality, dialogue and non-selectivity. The

elaboration of an annual global report on human rights

by the Office of the United Nations High

Commissioner for Human Rights, covering all

countries and situations, will help to increase the

credibility of the United Nations human rights system.

The Secretary-General has called for better

coordination in our work to protect victims of grave

and systematic violations of human rights.

International cooperation in the field of human rights

and humanitarian assistance must be guided by the

principle of collective responsibility. We have

maintained on several occasions — in our region and

elsewhere — that the principle of non-intervention in

the domestic affairs of States must be associated with

the idea of “non-indifference”.

We have been called upon to deal with new

concepts, such as human security and the responsibility

to protect. We agree that they merit a proper place in

our system. But it is an illusion to believe that we can

combat the dysfunctional politics at the root of grave

human rights violations by military means alone, or

even by economic sanctions, without fully utilizing

diplomacy and persuasion.

Human security is mainly the result of just and

equitable societies that promote and protect human

rights, strengthen democracy and respect the rule of

law, while creating opportunities for economic

development and social justice. The United Nations

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was not created to disseminate the notion that order

should be imposed by force. That extreme expedient

can be considered only when all other efforts have

been exhausted and peaceful solutions have proved not

to be viable. A judgement as to the existence of such

exceptional circumstances must always be a

multilateral one.

The Charter foresees two situations in which the

use of force is permissible: to restore or maintain

international peace and security, and in the case of the

right to self-defence. Mixing those two concepts would

blur the meaning of the very tenets of this

Organization.

Security Council reform is the centrepiece of the

reform process in which we are engaged. The vast

majority of Member States recognize the need to make

the Security Council more representative and

democratic.

At this historic juncture, no Security Council

reform effort will be meaningful unless it contemplates

an increase in the number of permanent and non-

permanent seats, with developing countries from

Africa, Latin America and Asia included in both

categories. We cannot accept the perpetuation of

imbalances that run contrary to the very spirit of

multilateralism.

Above all, a more efficient Council must be

capable of ensuring that its decisions are implemented.

It is not reasonable to expect the Council to continue to

expand its agenda and responsibilities without

addressing its democracy deficit.

Two years ago, President Luiz Inácio Lula da

Silva declared before the Assembly that every nation

that is committed to democracy at the domestic level

must strive for more transparent, legitimate and

representative decision-making processes in its

external relations. In the same spirit, Secretary-General

Kofi Annan pointed out the contradictions to be

overcome, stating:

“We are the ones who go around the world

lecturing everybody about democracy. I think it is

about time we apply it to ourselves, and then

show that there is effective representation”.

We are still far from accomplishing the goals of

the Millennium Declaration. This week’s summit has

stressed the importance of a renewed commitment to

development assistance and contributed to promoting

universal acceptance of the target of 0.7 per cent of

gross national product devoted to official development

assistance. At the same time, we must continue to work

on innovative and additional sources of financing. I

note with satisfaction that since the Summit of World

Leaders for Action against Hunger and Poverty,

convened last year by President Lula, we have

achieved significant progress. A growing number of

Governments and non-governmental organizations

have joined in the effort to eradicate hunger and

poverty. This is the only war in which we are engaged.

This is the only war we can all win.

This year we witnessed yet again brutal acts of

terrorism. Innocent civilians, women and children are

today victims of groups who stand as adversaries to the

values we share. As a country whose identity cannot be

dissociated from the notions of tolerance and diversity,

Brazil rejects in the strongest terms those abhorrent

acts, which go against the very notion of humanity. We

will continue to lend our support to increased

international cooperation in the fight against terrorism

and in the struggle to eliminate its deep-rooted causes.

Such efforts must be undertaken with due respect

for international law and human rights. The fight

against terrorism cannot be viewed in terms of police

repression alone. Nor can such repression result in

absurd and indiscriminate killing like terrorism itself.

Despite the fact that there is no automatic linkage

between poverty and terrorism, communities can be

exposed to extreme attitudes by fanatical groups as a

result of grave social and economic problems,

especially when associated with the absence of civil

and political liberties. I wish to express Brazil’s

readiness to work intensively with a view to the prompt

conclusion of a comprehensive convention against

terrorism.

We recognize the risks of the proliferation of

weapons of mass destruction. At the same time, we

cannot disregard the importance of reducing and

dismantling existing arsenals of all such weapons. We

regret that the seventh Review Conference of the

Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of

Nuclear Weapons did not produce tangible results.

Together with non-proliferation efforts, we must

continue to work tirelessly towards nuclear

disarmament.

In addition to the challenges I have just referred

to, we are faced with two crises of global scope: the

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pandemic explosion of HIV/AIDS and the serious

threats posed by climate change. Brazil will continue to

promote the implementation of existing multilateral

instruments to fight those scourges.

Brazil is committed to reinforcing the strategic

alliance with its main partner in our region —

Argentina — and to the promotion of a prosperous,

integrated and politically stable South America,

building upon our experience in the Southern Cone

Common Market (MERCOSUR). We will tirelessly

strive for MERCOSUR’s advancement in the economic

and political fields. The South American Community

of Nations, which was founded last year in Cuzco,

Peru, can be seen as a driving force for integration in

Latin America and the Caribbean as a whole.

Our efforts in establishing partnerships with other

developing countries go beyond our immediate region.

The India-Brazil-South Africa Dialogue Forum (IBSA)

has brought together three large democracies from

Africa, Asia and Latin America that are keen on

deepening the economic, political and cultural ties

between them and between their regions. Together with

other partners, we have joined in setting up the Group

of Twenty (G-20), which places developing countries

at the centre of agricultural trade negotiations of the

World Trade Organization’s Doha round. Thanks to the

role played by the G-20, it has been possible to

combine trade liberalization with social justice in the

context of the multilateral trading system.

Strengthening our ties with Africa has been a

long-standing aspiration of Brazil’s. No previous

Government has pursued that objective with the

resolve demonstrated by President Lula. Trade and

cooperation between Brazil and Africa have grown

significantly. Political dialogue has intensified. We

have been contributing to the consolidation of peace

and democracy in countries such as Guinea-Bissau and

Sao Tome and Principe. We have helped to fight

hunger, develop agriculture and combat the scourge of

HIV/AIDS in various brother countries of Africa.

The same sense of solidarity inspires us to

participate in United Nations peace efforts in Haiti.

The Brazilian and Latin American presence in Haiti is

unprecedented, in terms of both troops and political

commitment. We are motivated by three main

objectives: establishing a safe environment, promoting

dialogue among the various political actors with a view

to a genuine democratic transition and securing

effective international support for institutional, social

and economic reconstruction. Haiti is likely to be the

first test case for the Peacebuilding Commission.

Brazil and the Arab world are renewing their ties

of friendship, inspired by strong historical and cultural

affinities. Apart from bilateral initiatives, Brazil has

been strengthening its relations with regional

groupings such as the Gulf Cooperation Council and

the Arab League. In May 2005, an unprecedented

summit of South American and Arab States took place

in Brasilia. That pioneering initiative brought together

two regions of the developing world in a concrete

demonstration of harmony of civilizations.

On several trips to the Middle East, I had the

opportunity to talk to variety of people, including

leaders from Israel and Palestine. They are aware of

Brazil’s willingness to support the work of the Quartet

as a partner for peace. The practice of tolerance and

respect for others, as well as the harmonious co-

existence of different communities in our country,

constitute our comparative advantage. I believe that

conviction is shared by eminent persons and political

leaders from both Israel and Palestine.

At the beginning of this new chapter in the life of

the United Nations, Brazil remains committed to the

ideals that led to the creation of the only Organization

of universal scope, the only body that can guarantee a

future of peace and prosperity — not for the few, but

for all.