Brazil

It is a great honour for me to come to this rostrum to speak on behalf of the people and Government of Brazil. I bring the greetings of President Lula. Within days, over 130 million Brazilians will go to the polls and will write another important chapter in the history of our democracy. During President Lula’s two terms, Brazil has changed. Sustained economic growth, financial stability, social inclusion and the full exercise of democracy have converged and reinforced each another. Over 20 million Brazilians rose out of poverty, and many others out of extreme poverty. Nearly 30 million people joined the middle class. Strong and transparent public policies reduced inequalities in income, access and opportunities. Millions of Brazilians rose to dignity and real citizenship. The strengthened domestic market protected us from the worst effects of the global crisis set in motion by the financial casino in the richest countries in the world. Brazil is proud to have achieved almost all of the Millennium Development Goals and to be well on the way to meeting them all by 2015. The inability of any country to achieve those Goals must be seen as a failure of the entire international community. The promotion of development is a collective responsibility. Brazil has been working to assist other countries to replicate its successful experiences. In the past years Brazil’s actions on the international stage have been driven by a sense of solidarity. We are convinced that it is possible to have a humanistic foreign policy without losing sight of national interests. That policy is supported by South-South cooperation. The IBSA Facility for Poverty and Hunger Alleviation, created by India, Brazil and South Africa, finances projects in Haiti, Guinea-Bissau, Cape Verde, Palestine, Cambodia, Burundi, Laos and Sierra Leone. Brazil has substantially increased its humanitarian aid and the number of its cooperation projects with poorer countries. Africa occupies a very special place in Brazilian diplomacy. Since taking office, President Lula has been to Africa 11 times and visited over 20 countries in the continent. We have set up an agricultural research office in Ghana, a model cotton farm in Mali, a manufacturing plant for antiretroviral drugs in Mozambique and professional training centres in five African countries. Through trade and investment, we are helping the African continent to develop its enormous potential and reduce its dependency on a few centres of political and economic power. Brazil is particularly concerned about Guinea- Bissau. It is not by isolating or abandoning Guinea- Bissau that the international community will help it address the challenges it still faces. We need intelligent modalities for cooperation, which can promote development and stability and encourage the necessary reforms, especially with regard to the armed forces. This year, in which a significant number of African countries celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of their decolonization, Brazil renews its commitment to an independent, prosperous, just and democratic Africa. There are few places where international solidarity is more needed than Haiti. We joined the United Nations in mourning the tragedy that took the lives of hundreds of thousands of Haitians. We ourselves lost great Brazilians, including Dr. Zilda Arns — a woman who dedicated her life to the poor, especially children — Mr. Luiz Carlos da Costa, Deputy Head of the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti, and 18 of our peacekeepers. We would like to express our compassion for the suffering of the Haitian people and, above all, our admiration for the stoicism and courage with which they have been facing adversity. The Haitian people know that they can count on Brazil to not only help them maintain order and defend democracy, but also assist in their development. We are keeping our promises and will keep a watchful eye on the situation to ensure that the commitments of the international community go beyond rhetorical statements. 10-54827 6 In recent years, the Brazilian Government has invested heavily in South America’s integration and peace. We have strengthened our strategic partnership with Argentina. We have reinforced MERCOSUR, including through financial mechanisms unique among developing countries. The establishment of the Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) aims at consolidating a genuine zone of peace and prosperity. UNASUR has already demonstrated its value in promoting understanding and the peaceful resolution of conflicts among and within countries in South America and has made foreign interference in our region even more unwarranted. By creating the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, launched in Bahia, Brazil and confirmed in Cancún, Mexico, we have reaffirmed the region’s willingness to extend to Central America and the Caribbean the integrationist ideals that animate South Americans. Brazil reiterates its condemnation, shared by all in Latin America and the Caribbean, of the illegitimate embargo against Cuba. Its sole result has been to hamper the efforts of millions of Cubans in their struggle for development. We condemn anti-democratic moves, such as the coup d’état in Honduras. The return of former President Zelaya without threats to his freedom is indispensable for the full normalization of Honduras’ relations with the region as a whole. When President Lula first spoke in this Hall, in 2003, the world lived under the shadow of the invasion of Iraq. We hope we have learned the lessons of that episode. Blind faith in intelligence reports tailored to justify political goals must be rejected. We must ban once and for all the use of force that is inconsistent with international law. Furthermore, it is fundamental to value and promote dialogue and the peaceful resolution of disputes. In order to achieve a truly secure world, the promise of the total elimination of nuclear weapons must be fulfilled. Unilateral reductions are welcome but insufficient, especially when they occur in tandem with the modernization of nuclear arsenals. As President Lula has often stated, multilateralism is the international face of democracy. The United Nations must be the main center of decision-making in international politics. The changes that have occurred in the world over the past few decades and the series of crises we have faced in food security, climate change, the economic and financial sphere and peace and security make it urgent to redefine the rules that govern international relations. The financial crisis of 2008 accelerated change in global economic governance. The Group of Twenty (G-20) replaced the Group of Eight as the primary forum for deliberation on economic issues. The G-20 was a step forward, but it must be adjusted to ensure, for instance, greater African participation. The relevance and legitimacy of the G-20 can be preserved only if it maintains frank and permanent dialogue with all the nations represented in this General Assembly. At the height of the crisis, we succeeded in avoiding the worst-case scenario: a surge of uncontrolled protectionism, which would have thrown the world into a deep depression. But the developed countries have not demonstrated the necessary commitment to global economic stability. They continue to let themselves be guided by parochial interests. Nowhere is that more evident than in the Doha round of negotiations in the World Trade Organization. A balanced solution to that negotiating process, which has lasted for almost 10 years, would promote economic expansion and the development of the poorest countries, with the end of distorting subsidies and protectionist barriers. After all, poor countries are the greatest victims of the narrow and selfish view that still prevails in international trade. Reforms have also been insufficient in the financial sector. Unjustified resistance is preventing the implementation of agreed-upon changes. Obstinacy in maintaining anachronistic privileges perpetuates and deepens the illegitimacy of institutions. Another major challenge we face is achieving a global, comprehensive and ambitious agreement on climate change. In order to move forward on this matter, countries must stop hiding behind each other. Brazil, like other developing countries, has done its part. But in Copenhagen, several delegations, especially from the rich world, sought excuses to evade their moral and political obligations. They forgot that one cannot negotiate with Nature. A positive outcome of the sixteenth Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, with real progress in 7 10-54827 forests, financing for adaptation and mitigation and a reaffirmation of the Kyoto commitments, is indispensable. The Mexican presidency can count on Brazil’s engagement to achieve this objective. In 2012, we will host, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, the Rio+20 Conference. On behalf of the Brazilian Government, I invite all delegations to fulfill the promise of truly sustainable development. The reform of global governance has not yet reached the field of international peace and security. In the economic and environmental areas, the wealthiest nations have already understood that they cannot do without the cooperation of the poor and emerging countries. When it comes to war and peace, however, the traditional players are reluctant to share power. The Security Council must be reformed and expanded to allow for greater participation by developing countries, including as permanent members. We cannot continue with working methods that lack transparency and that allow the permanent members to discuss behind closed doors and for as long as they wish issues that concern all mankind. Brazil has sought to live up to what is expected from all Security Council members, including non- permanent ones — namely, that they contribute to peace. For this reason, we made a serious effort to find an instrument that could enable progress towards a solution of the Iranian nuclear question. In so doing, we relied on proposals that had been presented as a unique opportunity to build confidence between the parties. The Tehran Declaration of 17 May, signed by Brazil, Turkey and Iran, removed obstacles that, according to the very authors of those proposals, had previously prevented an agreement. The Tehran Declaration does not exhaust the issue and was never intended to do so. We are convinced that, once back to the negotiating table, the parties will find ways to resolve other issues, such as 20 per cent enrichment and the stock of enriched uranium accumulated since October 2009. In spite of the sanctions, we still hope that the logic of dialogue and understanding will prevail. The world cannot run the risk of a new conflict like the one in Iraq. We have been insisting, therefore, that the Iranian Government maintain an attitude of flexibility and openness towards negotiations, but it is necessary that all those concerned also demonstrate such willingness. We are closely following developments in the peace process in the Middle East. We hope the direct talks between Palestinians and Israelis launched earlier this month will produce concrete results that lead to the creation of a Palestinian State within the pre-1967 borders, a State that ensures for the Palestinian people a dignified life, co-existing side by side and in peace with the State of Israel. However, it is not the format of the dialogue that will determine whether it will yield results. What matters is the willingness of the parties to reach a just and lasting peace. That will be easier with the involvement of all those concerned. Freezing the construction of settlements in the occupied territories, lifting the Gaza blockade and ending attacks against civilian populations are crucial elements in the process. In his visit to Israel, Palestine and Jordan in March, President Lula spoke with government leaders and representatives of civil society about those issues. We frequently receive in Brasilia the leaders of various countries of the region, who seek support in resolving problems that have afflicted them for decades and have not been solved through the traditional means and actors. Brazil, which has about 10 million people of Arab descent and a sizeable Jewish community living together in harmony, will not shy away from making its contribution to the peace that we all yearn for. Brazil’s commitment to the promotion of human rights is also unwavering. We favour a non-selective, objective and multilateral treatment of human rights, without politicization or bias, in which everyone — the rich and the poor, the powerful and the weak — is subject to the same scrutiny. In our view, the exercise of human rights is more effectively ensured by dialogue and cooperation than by arrogant attitudes derived from self-declared moral superiority. During his eight years in office, President Lula has developed a foreign policy that is independent, free of any sort of submission, and respectful of Brazil’s neighbours and partners. It is an innovative foreign policy, which does not distance itself from the fundamental values of the Brazilian nation: peace, pluralism, tolerance and solidarity. Just as Brazil has changed and will continue to change, the world is also changing. We must deepen and accelerate this process. With the technology and wealth at our disposal, there is no longer any justification for hunger, poverty and epidemics of 10-54827 8 preventable diseases. We can no longer live with discrimination, injustice and authoritarianism. We must face the challenges of nuclear disarmament, sustainable development and freer and fairer trade. Rest assured, Brazil will continue to fight to make these ideals a reality.