MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Recent events have exposed the limitations of multilateral bodies, Lula tells UN

Lula is expected to open the UN General Assembly on Tuesday given Brazil's tradition of being the first country to speak

Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva told the United Nations (UN) Sunday that the global entity lacked “ambition and boldness” to fulfill its role, Agencia Brasil reported. The South American head of state made those remarks during the so-called Summit of the Future. Lula also insisted that structural changes were needed to address the armed conflicts in the world today.

“The pandemic, the conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, the arms race, and climate change have exposed the limitations of multilateral bodies. Most bodies lack the authority and means of implementation to enforce their decisions. The General Assembly has lost its vitality and the Economic and Social Council has been emptied,” said Lula.

Last year, Brazil failed to pass a UN Security Council Resolution on the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip. On that occasion, the vote of the United States - a Permanent Member - made approval impossible, even after lengthy negotiations by Brazilian diplomacy. Other resolutions tabled also failed after thumbs down from the United States or Russia, another Permanent Member. According to Security Council rules, a resolution needs 9 of the total 15 members to be approved, provided no veto is exerted.

The Pact for the Future preceding the UN General Assembly brings together world leaders to discuss ways of tackling emerging security crises, accelerating the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and addressing the threats and opportunities of digital technologies. Lula highlighted the positive aspects of the Pact as dealing “in an unprecedented way” with important issues such as the debt of developing countries and international taxation; the creation of a forum for dialogue between heads of state and government and leaders of international financial institutions. According to Lula, this promises to put the UN back at the center of the global economic debate.

The Brazilian president also mentioned progress towards inclusive digital governance that “reduces the asymmetries of a data-driven economy and mitigates the impact of new technologies such as artificial intelligence.” In his view, “all these advances are commendable and significant, but we still lack ambition and boldness.”

Lula also criticized the UN Security Council, saying that the body's legitimacy shrinks “every time it applies double standards or omits itself in the face of atrocities”. For Lula, the Breton Woods institutions, such as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, disregard the priorities and needs of the developing world. “The Global South is not represented in a manner consistent with its current political, economic, and demographic weight,” he said.

The Brazilian leader said that there had been little progress in the multilateral agenda for reforming the UN system over the last 20 years and cited the Peacebuilding Commission, created in 2005, and the Human Rights Council, created in 2006, as positive measures. He also warned that the Sustainable Development Goals, despite being the greatest “diplomatic undertaking of recent years”, are heading towards becoming “our greatest collective failure”.

“At the current rate of implementation, only 17% of the goals of the 2030 agenda will be achieved on time. As president of the G20, Brazil will launch a global alliance against hunger and poverty to accelerate the overcoming of these scourges,” he said.

Lula also said that, at the current rate, the levels of greenhouse gas emission reductions and climate finance will be insufficient to keep the planet safe. “In partnership with the Secretary-General [of the UN, António Guterres], in preparation for COP30, we are going to work towards a global ethical balance, bringing together various sectors of civil society to think about climate action from the perspective of justice, equity, and solidarity,” he went on.

“We cannot go backward in promoting gender equality, nor in the fight against racism and all forms of discrimination. Nor can we go back to living with nuclear threats. It is unacceptable to regress to a world divided into ideological borders or zones of influence. Naturalizing hunger for 733 million people would be shameful. To go back on our commitments is to put in check everything we have built so hard,” Lula also said.

“We need the courage and political will to change, creating the tomorrow we want today. The best legacy we can leave future generations is governance capable of responding effectively to the challenges that remain and those that will arise,” he elaborated.

The Summit for the Future is a parallel event to the UN General Assembly. The event approved Sunday a declaration by member states to strengthen global cooperation and establish commitments to better adapt to current challenges, for the future of renewed and effective multilateralism, for the benefit of future generations.

Lula is expected to open the UN General Assembly on Tuesday given Brazil's tradition of being the first country to speak.