Brazil, 2011

For the very

first time in the history of the United Nations, a female

voice is opening the general debate. It is the voice of

democracy and equality that reverberates from a forum

that is committed to being the most representative in

the world. It is with a sense of personal humility, but

with justifiable pride as a woman, that I greet this

historic moment.

I share this emotion with more than half of the

human beings on this planet, who, like me, were born

women and who, with a sense of purposeful

determination, are now taking the place in the world

they rightly deserve. I am certain that this will be the

century of women. In the Portuguese language, words

such as life, soul and hope are feminine nouns. Two

other words in Portuguese that are especially dear to

me are also feminine, namely, courage and sincerity.

And it is in a spirit of courage and sincerity that I wish

to address the General Assembly today.

The world is experiencing an extremely delicate

period, one that at the same time offers us a major

historic opportunity. We face an economic crisis that, if

not overcome, could become a source of serious

political and social disruption, an unprecedented

upheaval capable of causing serious imbalances in

relationships between people and nations. More than

ever before, the fate of the world is in the hands of its

rulers and leaders, with no exceptions. Either we

combine our efforts and emerge victorious together, or

we will all emerge defeated. It is now less important to

know or decide who caused the situation we are

facing — because, after all, that is clear enough by

now. What does matter is that we start finding

collective, speedy and genuine solutions.

The current crisis is too serious to be managed by

a few countries. Their Governments and central banks

still have the greatest responsibility in implementing

the process. Yet, since all countries suffer the

consequences, all are entitled to participate in their

solutions. It is not because of a lack of financial

resources that the leaders of developed countries have

not yet found a solution to the crisis. Rather, if I may

put it this way, it is due to a lack of political resources

and, at times, of clear ideas. There is a part of the

world that has not yet found a balance between

appropriate fiscal adjustments and correct and precise

fiscal stimuli conducive to demand and growth. They

have been caught in a trap that does not distinguish

between partisan interests and the legitimate interests

of society. The challenge posed by the crisis entails

replacing outdated theories that belong to an old world

with new proposals crafted for a new world.

While many Governments are shrinking,

unemployment, the bitterest face of the crisis, is

growing. There are already 205 million unemployed

people in the world, of whom 44 million are in Europe

and 14 million in the United States. Tackling this

scourge and preventing it from spreading to other

regions of the planet is vitally important. We women

know better than anyone that unemployment is not just

a statistic; it affects our families, children and

7 11-50692

husbands. It takes away hope and leaves a trail of

violence and pain.

It is quite telling that it is the President of an

emerging country, a country experiencing almost full

employment, who has come here today to speak in such

stark terms of a tragedy that has mainly hit developed

countries.

Like other emerging countries, Brazil has thus far

been less affected by the global crisis. But we know

that our ability to withstand the crisis is not unlimited.

We are willing and able to help those countries that are

already facing an acute crisis, while there is still time.

A new kind of cooperation between emerging and

developed countries is an historic opportunity to

redefine, with solidarity and responsibility, the

commitments that govern international relations.

The world of today faces a crisis that is at once of

economics, governance and political coordination.

There will not be a return to confidence and growth

until we intensity coordination efforts among United

Nations Member States and other multilateral

institutions, including the Group of Twenty, the

International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, and

other organs.

The United Nations and those organizations must

act urgently to send clear signals of political cohesion

and macroeconomic coordination. For example, fiscal

and monetary policies should be submitted to mutual

assessment in such a way as to ultimately prevent

undesirable effects on other countries, thus avoiding

defensive reactions that in turn lead to a vicious circle.

The solution to the debt problem should be

combined with economic growth. There are obvious

signs that several advanced economies are on the

threshold of recession, which will significantly hamper

resolution of their fiscal problems.

It is clear that the priority for the world economy

at this moment should be to solve the problems of

those countries that are facing a sovereign debt crisis

and reversing the current recession scenario. The most

developed countries must establish coordinated

policies to stimulate economies that have been

extremely weakened by the crisis. Countries with

emerging economies can help in that effort. Countries

with a high surplus should strengthen their domestic

markets and, as appropriate, make their foreign

exchange rate policies more flexible in such a way that

contributes to the eventual rebalancing of global

demand.

Deepening the regulation of the financial system

and controlling that inexhaustible source of instability

is a pressing need. Controls must be imposed on the

foreign-exchange war by adopting floating foreign-

exchange regimes. The task at hand is about preventing

the manipulation of foreign exchange that occurs not

only through excessively expansionist monetary

policies but also through an artificially fixed foreign

exchange.

Without a doubt, the reform of multilateral

financial institutions should continue, thus increasing

the participation of emerging countries, which, as

driving forces, are responsible for the growth of the

world’s economy. We should fight protectionism and

all forms of commercial manipulation. They do

increase competitiveness, but in a spurious, fraudulent

fashion.

Brazil is doing its homework. With sacrifices, but

at the same time with a sense of insightfulness, we

have kept Government spending under strict control, to

the point of generating a sizable surplus in Government

accounts while ensuring that those steps will not

compromise the success of our social policies or the

pace of our investment and growth. We are also taking

additional precautions to buttress our ability to

withstand the crisis by strengthening our domestic

market with income distribution and technological

innovation policies.

For at least three years now, Brazil has reiterated —

time and again, from this very podium — that we must

all tackle the causes, and not only the consequences, of

global instability. We have emphasized time and again

the interrelations among development, peace and

security. We have often underscored that development

policies should be increasingly coupled with the

Security Council’s strategies in the pursuit of

sustainable peace.

That is how we have acted as part of our

commitments to Haiti and to Guinea-Bissau. As a

leading country in the United Nations Stabilization

Mission in Haiti, Brazil has since 2004 undertaken

humanitarian projects that integrate security and

development. With deep respect for Haitian

sovereignty, Brazil is proud to assist in the

consolidation of democracy in that country.

11-50692 8

We are in a position to provide a solidarity-based

contribution to brotherly countries in the developing

world in matters such as food security, agricultural

technology, generation of clean and renewable energy

and the fight against hunger and poverty.

Since late 2010, we have witnessed a series of

grass-roots demonstrations that have come to be known

as the Arab Spring. Brazil is the adopted homeland of

many immigrants from that part of the world.

Brazilians sympathize with the pursuit of an ideal that

belongs to no culture in particular, because it is by

definition universal: freedom.

The nations united here today must find a

legitimate and effective way to aid those societies that

cry out for reform — without, however, depriving their

citizens of a lead role in the process. We strongly

repudiate the brutal crack down episodes that victimize

civilian populations. We remain convinced that for the

international community, resort to force must always

be the last alternative.

The quest for peace and security in the world

cannot be limited to interventions in extreme situations

only. We support the Secretary-General in his efforts to

engage the United Nations in conflict prevention by

tirelessly exercising diplomacy and promoting

development. The world of today suffers from the

painful consequences of interventions that have

worsened existing conflicts. That has allowed terrorism

to creep into areas where it previously did not exist,

thus generating new cycles of violence and multiplying

the number of civilian victims.

Much is said about the responsibility to protect,

yet little is said about responsibility while protecting.

These are concepts that we must develop and mature

together. To that end, the role of the Security Council is

critical, and the more legitimate its decisions are, the

more appropriate that role will be. And the Council’s

very legitimacy increasingly depends upon its reform.

With each passing year, a solution to the lack of

representativeness in the Security Council becomes an

ever more urgent need, which in turn erodes its

efficacy. Former Assembly President Joseph Deiss

reminded me of an impressive fact, namely, that the

debate on the proposed reform of the Security Council

is now entering its eighteenth year.

We can delay no longer. The world needs a

Security Council that reflects contemporary realities, a

Council that will incorporate new permanent and

non-permanent members, especially those representing

developing countries.

Brazil is ready to take on its responsibilities as a

permanent member of the Council. We have lived in

peace with our neighbours for more than 140 years and

have fostered successful integration and cooperation

processes with them. Our Constitution expressly states

our commitment to abstain from the use of nuclear

energy for non-peaceful purposes. I am proud to say

that Brazil is a driver of peace, stability and prosperity

in the region and even beyond it.

In the Human Rights Council, we have drawn

inspiration from our own history of endeavour as a

nation. We desire for other countries what we desire for

ourselves. Authoritarianism, xenophobia, poverty,

capital punishment and discrimination are all sources

of human rights violations. We know that violations

occur in every country, without exception. We must

recognize this reality, and we must accept criticism. We

will ultimately benefit from criticism, and we should

pointedly criticize flagrant violations wherever they

occur.

I welcome South Sudan to our family of nations.

Brazil is ready to cooperate with the youngest Member

of the United Nations and to contribute to its sovereign

development.

I regret, however, that from this podium I am still

unable to welcome Palestine into full membership of

the Organization. Brazil has recognized the Palestinian

State as defined by the 1967 borders, in accordance

with United Nations resolutions. Like most countries in

the Assembly, we believe that the time has come for

Palestine to be represented as a full Member in this

forum.

The recognition of the Palestinian people’s

legitimate right to sovereignty and self-rule expands

the possibilities and prospects for a lasting peace in the

Middle East. Only a free and sovereign Palestine can

respond to Israel’s legitimate desire for peace with its

neighbours, security within its borders and political

stability in its region. I come from a country where

descendents of Arabs and Jews are compatriots and live

together in harmony, which is as it should be.

Brazil advocates for a global, comprehensive and

ambitious agreement within the framework of the

United Nations to fight climate change. To achieve

9 11-50692

this, countries must shoulder their respective

responsibilities. Brazil submitted a concrete, voluntary

and significant proposal for reducing greenhouse gas

emissions during the 2009 United Nations Climate

Change Conference in Copenhagen. We hope to be able

to make progress at the upcoming meeting in Durban

by supporting developing countries in their efforts to

reduce emissions, and at the same time ensuring that

developed countries fulfil their obligations, beyond

2012, on the basis of new targets under the Kyoto

Protocol.

Brazil will have the honour of hosting the United

Nations Conference on Sustainable Development —

Rio+20 — in June of 2012. Along with Secretary-

General Ban Ki-moon, I reiterate our invitation to all

heads of State and Government to join us at that

Conference next year.

Brazil has learned that fighting poverty is the best

development policy, and that a genuine human rights

policy must ultimately be based on reducing

inequalities and discrimination between and among

regions, people and genders. Brazil has made political,

economic and social progress without compromising

any of its democratic freedoms. We have met almost all

of the Millennium Development Goals before 2015.

Forty million Brazilian men and women have come up

out of poverty and been lifted into the middle class. I

am fully confident that we will achieve our goal of

eradicating extreme poverty in Brazil by the end of my

term in office.

In my country, women have been vital to the task

of overcoming social inequalities. Our income

distribution programmes place mothers as the central

figures in the scheme. It is they who manage the

resources that allow families to invest in the health and

education of their children. Yet my country, like every

other nation, still has to do much more when it comes

to valuing women and asserting their status. In that

regard, I would like to congratulate the Secretary-

General for making women a priority during his tenure

at the head of the United Nations. I particularly

welcome the creation of UN-Women and the

appointment of its Executive Director, Ms. Michelle

Bachelet.

Besides speaking on behalf of my own beloved

country, I feel that when I stand up here I am

representing all the women of the world — the

anonymous women, those who starve and cannot feed

their children, those who are suffering from illnesses

and cannot get treatment, those who are victims of

violence or who are discriminated against at work, in

society and in their family life, and those who labour at

home to bring up future generations. I add my voice to

those of the women who have dared to struggle, to take

part in political and professional life, and who have

thus gained the spheres of power that allow me to stand

here today.

As a woman who was the victim of torture while

in prison, I am all too aware of how important values

such as democracy, justice, human rights and freedom

are to all of us. It is my hope that these values will

continue to inspire the work of this house of nations,

where I am honoured to open the general debate of the

sixty-sixth session of the General Assembly.