Brazil

Mr. President, your election to preside over the fifty-third session of the United Nations General Assembly is especially gratifying for us Brazilians. Brazil and Uruguay came into being as sister nations, and our bonds are becoming ever stronger. With each passing day, our destinies are more and more linked together. The opportunity I have of working closely with my friend, Didier Opertti, allows me to say with conviction that at this session the Assembly will have a formidable President. In the exercise of this important task, you will benefit from the example set by your predecessor. At the helm of the fifty-second session, Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko was able to guide and motivate delegations and to provide valuable impulse to the proposals for reform put forward by the Secretary- General. Because of his dedication to the task of modernizing our Organization and, above all, because of his decisive role in situations that pose a real threat to international peace and security, the Secretary-General deserves our applause. The diplomatic talent and serene daring revealed by Mr. Kofi Annan confirm that we have in him a leader who is up to the challenges and opportunities before us. It was an honour for us to have welcomed him in Brazil this past July. The defining trait of this particular moment is the troubling instability that besets global financial markets. Since the last quarter of 1997, when we first felt the shock waves of what was then called the “Asian crisis”, the world economy has been suffering the effects of a phenomenon whose reach, depth and permanence are still not clear. But the international community cannot wait, with arms crossed, for the course of events to shed light on our quandary. It is both legitimate and necessary that Governments act to try to prevent problems that may arise. In an era marked by the rapid integration of national economies, such action by Governments will increasingly have to be made through coordination in the international sphere. Although there is still no consensus as to the dimension of the crisis we face, nor on the prognosis for its duration, there seems to be a growing convergence of points of view regarding the impact of the high volatility of capital movements. The events of the past few months 5 have revealed a serious lag between growing financial interdependence and the modest effectiveness of existing international mechanisms for dialogue and coordination. Since the beginning of his Administration, President Fernando Henrique Cardoso of Brazil has been calling the attention of other world leaders to the task of making the global financial system more stable and predictable. In repeated messages to G-7 members, beginning in 1995, he offered concrete proposals: to increase cooperation among monetary authorities; to expand coordination of macroeconomic policies among countries that can have considerable impact on world finance; to upgrade international monitoring capacity over domestic macroeconomic policy; and to expand mechanisms aimed at stabilizing currencies under speculative attack. There have been, of course, considerable advances along some of these lines, but the measures adopted still fall far short of what is needed. Until now, political will has not corresponded to the magnitude and gravity of the situation. The crisis will not resolve itself. We must join together to face it. In this, as in other fields of international life, we must avoid at all costs an attitude that, back in the seventies, Brazilian Foreign Minister Azeredo da Silveira described as “the postponement syndrome”. Experience teaches us that inaction can have a high cost. It also teaches that answers given by various countries to crisis situations, if guided by irrational or spur-of-the- moment reactions, can turn these situations into even greater problems, prolonging their effects over time and aggravating people’s suffering. One can imagine extreme scenarios of a return to closed economic models, to the search for elusive self- sufficiency and isolation, to notions of national security based on distrust of others and on the insecurity of others. Such scenarios must not become reality. We cannot allow it. Progress in international relations depends fundamentally on the perception of the international arena not as a source of potential threat, but as an environment in which risks can be reduced and difficulties overcome by a pooling of wills and resources. Ours is not a world in which nations should be left to their own devices. The cost of such a course is invariably higher than the energy or resources saved by attempts to distance oneself from the problems of others. The willingness to deal collectively with problems will motivate individual countries to believe in the benefit of seeking international consideration of matters in their direct interest. The world cannot depend only on the willingness, capacity and interest of a select number of countries to mobilize and lead international efforts in this or that direction. We can no longer accept situations, such as the present financial crisis, in which, despite the undeniably international nature of the phenomenon, Governments and societies simply do not fully trust any of the existing organizations or mechanisms as a source of support, guidance or even interpretation of the problem at hand. We must give serious consideration to the fact that growing interdependence renders indispensable effective governance at the international level. We have before us an essentially political challenge. This does not mean simply modernizing decision-making procedures or administrative structures, but also giving to multilateral treatment of issues the priority it so often receives in our speeches and statements. A large gap still remains between the recognition that the central problems facing humanity must be dealt with at the international level and the resistance of Governments and societies to act in accordance with that recognition. This is most evident in the allocation of resources and in the adoption of policies capable of generating external repercussions. In that same vein, if the link between the national and the international is ever greater, peace and development are also increasingly related. A world racked by economic instability or despair cannot be a safe environment, free of the threat of war, conflict and violence. But the reverse is also true: material and social progress presupposes minimal conditions of security and peaceful coexistence among and within countries. We must advance on both fronts by working to establish a climate of confidence in the political-strategic realm and in the essential context of the global economy. Brazil’s relative weight and the history of our international behaviour are some of our country’s most important credentials. These credentials are strengthened today by the maturity of our democracy and by the vigorous modernization of the Brazilian economy. Under the leadership of President Cardoso, we have renewed our permanent willingness to play a more active 6 role in building a world order conducive to peace and development. This spirit guides Brazil’s international action, particularly within the United Nations. I wish to point out that, in the Security Council and other United Nations bodies, our delegation, led by Ambassador Celso Amorim, has faithfully reflected this central guideline of Brazilian foreign policy. In 1998, we have completed our participation in the international non-proliferation regime. We have ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and acceded to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which was approved by Brazil’s National Congress this past July. Three days ago in Washington, I had the satisfaction of personally depositing the instrument of accession to the NPT, in tandem with our Ambassadors in London and Moscow. These decisions lend formal and symbolic support to the commitment to use nuclear energy for exclusively peaceful purposes. This commitment is enshrined in the Brazilian Constitution and is strengthened by the bilateral and regional pacts we have signed. The existing agreements and the cooperation between Brazil and Argentina, as well as the Treaty of Tlatelolco, are exemplary achievements in this field. Brazil thus feels particularly motivated to call upon nuclear-armed States, and upon those with the capability of producing such weapons, to take decisive steps towards disarmament. We also expect that Governments which have still not become party to the NPT, the CTBT and other relevant instruments and mechanisms will do so at an early date. As an expression of the determination which motivates us to work for this cause, Brazil, together with seven other friendly countries, signed the “Declaration on a Nuclear Weapon Free World: the Need for a New Agenda” on 9 June of this year. During the current session of the General Assembly, together with our partners in the Declaration, we intend to present a draft resolution aimed at boosting and guiding efforts towards the complete and definitive elimination of nuclear weapons. There is no longer room or justification for postponing action in the nuclear field or in the broader fight to eliminate all weapons of mass destruction. The cost of a failure to do so could be truly catastrophic, and the risks are evident to all. The Brazilian Government, as the coordinator of the guarantor countries of the Rio de Janeiro Protocol, has been making a sustained effort to assist Ecuador and Peru in reaching at the earliest possible date a solid and final agreement on the border differences that have kept them apart for decades. Our diplomatic services — together with those of Argentina, Chile and the United States — stand ready to continue making the best possible contribution. Recent developments confirm the prognosis that the peace process is on its way to a conclusion and reflect the political will and the high level of engagement with which Ecuador and Peru have been working towards that end. The fact that South America is a region in which countries essentially live in a harmonious, peaceful and increasingly integrated manner is for Brazil a vital and defining trait that our peoples are determined to preserve. The same applies to the permanence of democratic regimes as a common thread of the nations in our continent. It is a higher value to which we are collectively committed in the Southern Cone Common Market (MERCOSUR), the Rio Group and the Organization of American States (OAS). The advent and consolidation of democracy was the determining factor in the extraordinary work of integration in which South American nations are engaged. This is an accomplishment of our societies that the Governments of the region must always be prepared to defend as one. This is a basic tenet of Brazilian foreign policy. Brazil attaches the utmost importance to the advancement of human rights. As we celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we should recognize the persistent gap between principles and generally accepted rules of international law, on the one hand, and the prevalent realities of the world, on the other. The Brazilian Government is engaged in the fight to overcome the distance between norms and facts in our country. We are prepared to draw from the international environment elements that may help us realize an aspiration shared by all Brazilians. This was the main thrust of President Cardoso’s submission to the National Congress of the decision to recognize the mandatory jurisdiction of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. 7 President Cardoso is also committed to the fight against the drug trade. His presence at the special session of the General Assembly this past June was clear proof of this commitment. Our participation in the effort to build a lasting peace extends beyond the Americas. The Brazilian military and police have taken part in United Nations forces in many parts of the world, particularly in Portuguese-speaking countries in Africa, to which we are bound by history and culture. Brazil has followed developments in Angola with concern. The United Nations must firmly insist that UNITA fulfil the commitments undertaken in the Lusaka Protocol. An unravelling of the situation could jeopardize the progress achieved in the peace process and would be tragic indeed. Angolans have been subjected to untold suffering for decades. The international community must do everything within its reach so that Angola may finally dedicate itself to reconstruction and development. The Brazilian Government, along with the other members of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries, is engaged in seeking a peaceful solution to the grave internal crisis faced by Guinea-Bissau. The Community, in close coordination with countries in the region, has contributed to spurring significant progress. We will continue to pursue favourable conditions for the urgent and complete normalization of life in that sister nation. As for East Timor — to which we are also bound by history and a common language — Brazil welcomes the new spirit that presides over this delicate and complex issue, especially in the context of the tripartite negotiations between the Portuguese and Indonesian Governments, under the auspices of the Secretary-General. The Brazilian Government has maintained a positive dialogue with the parties involved and is determined to assist, to the limit of its possibilities, in finding an adequate equation for all concerned, with progressive participation by the Timorese themselves. Since the advent of economic stability in 1994, Brazil has shown renewed dynamism with the strengthening of our domestic market and the outlook for development with social justice. But present-day Brazil does not see its development as isolated or self-contained. We realize that the destiny of our economy is increasingly linked to that of the economies of our neighbours and partners, in the framework of an integration process that has decidedly contributed to progress in the region and to the well-being of our societies, particularly within MERCOSUR. The fruits of this process serve not only the goal of economic development but also, and most importantly, the cause of social justice, which remains the foremost task of our region. We welcome the results of the most recent edition of the United Nations Human Development Report. The numbers show that, in spite of all that remains to be done, our country has made extraordinary social progress over the past two decades in the areas of health, education, the fight against poverty and the reduction of disparities among the various regions of the country. Even though we still face daunting challenges, Brazilians are leading a better life, as our presence among those nations of greater human development indicates. Consistent with its domestic policies and its regional role, Brazil will continue to fight for a more balanced allocation of the benefits of economic interdependence, without distortions such as those resulting from protectionist policies of developed countries. Such policies affect in a particularly cruel manner the developing countries and serve to reinforce the arguments of those who preach domestically a return to closed economic models. In the current context of global economic turbulence, we must demand that the developed countries establish greater coherence between free-trade rhetoric and their unfair trade practices. President Cardoso has stated that we must abandon the path of globalization with exclusion — in the decision-making process as well as in the distribution of benefits — and seek globalization with solidarity in both of those dimensions. Reforming and strengthening the United Nations is an essential part of building a world of greater solidarity. The Brazilian Government recognizes the significant progress that has already been made in terms of structural and functional modernization of the Organization. We agree with the Secretary-General when he says that reform must not be seen as an event, but as a process; but we cannot but stress that an important part of that process has yet to be undertaken. 8 For Brazil, reforming the United Nations necessarily implies updating the functioning and composition of the Security Council, which still mirrors a period of history that is now long gone. That does not mean — and I have stated this before in this forum — that the particular interests of this or that country should be taken into account. What it does mean is that fundamental deficiencies in terms of legitimacy, representativeness and effectiveness must be redressed. We will continue to defend expansion in both categories of members, with the presence, in both, of developing countries. It is inconceivable that, on the eve of the new millennium, reform of the Organization could exclude the restructuring of the Security Council. The basis of global solidarity is the establishment of trust between societies. There is no other way if we are to establish a peaceful, stable and constructive international environment. Our so-called global village is still far from becoming a truly integrated community, in which people can consider themselves as participants in the same historical process. Of the many merits of international organizations, one of the most important is that they offer a framework of interaction that favours the development of a true sense of universal communion. In dealing with common problems, Governments learn in practice just how much they need to work more and more closely together. In international forums, we are constantly weaving a web of relations based on a stronger identity and trust between our nations and their leaders. Countries must trust one another, but they must also have a reason to trust in the legitimacy and efficiency of multilateral organizations and procedures in order to tackle their most important problems. The dynamics of international life demand a constant updating of the instruments at the disposal of the community of nations to allow it to act collectively in the face of its greatest challenges. We must have the courage to recognize that never before have the risks and the cost of procrastination been so high. We must, above all, have the will to make the decisions that can ultimately restore our faith in ourselves, in our capacity to state that history does goes on, and that we are pointing it in the direction of a more just and better world.