Brazil

It gives me great pleasure to make use of our common language to congratulate you, Sir, on your election. We are honoured to see a Portuguese statesman, a friend of Brazil, and a representative of our commonwealth of Portuguese- speaking countries presiding over this session of the General Assembly, a session that is bound to become a milestone in the history of the United Nations. My Government is confident that, under your skilled guidance, our deliberations will forge the kind of understanding and commitment capable of asserting the credibility and pre-eminence of our Organization in world affairs. Let me also express our heartfelt appreciation to another friend of Brazil, Minister Amara Essy of Côte d’Ivoire, for his outstanding work at the helm of the forty-ninth session of the General Assembly. (spoke in English) I wish to congratulate the Secretary-General, Mr. Boutros Boutros-Ghali, and the Secretariat for their continued dedication to the United Nations and for their relentless work in carrying out their duties to the international community. In opening this debate today, Brazil wishes to renew its unwavering commitment to the principles and purposes embodied in the Charter of the United Nations. These principles and purposes set a mandate for peace and development, and are as relevant today as they were 50 years ago. They coincide entirely with the aspirations of Brazilian society. Our Constitution reflects them as the supreme values of our political and social life in democracy. I am proud to address the Assembly as the representative of a country that has widened its commitments to democracy and human rights, to sustainable development with economic stability, to peace and disarmament — a country at peace with itself, constantly striving to extend its presence in the world by strengthening traditional partnerships and fostering new ones. We expect from our partners an attitude of cooperation commensurate with Brazil’s growing participation in world markets and with its contribution to international peace and security. Democracy in Brazil continues to show extraordinary vitality under the leadership of President Fernando Henrique Cardoso. Our institutional framework is being strengthened, and progress in the social sphere is generating a renewed sense of citizenship among Brazilians. While strictly enforcing existing mechanisms, President Cardoso is proposing legislation that will ensure the full observance of human rights. Both at home and abroad, Brazil’s human rights policies are based on transparency and full cooperation with civil society. Together with strong governmental action to tackle the country’s social problems, measures to promote and protect human rights will greatly contribute to redress the unjust distribution of wealth that unfortunately still prevails in Brazil. Long-needed structural reforms and privatization are being carried out, paving the way for the consolidation of economic stability and sustained economic growth. Brazil has achieved a high degree of economic openness, thus accelerating its integration into the international economy and creating more favourable conditions for increased participation in international trade, technology transfers and productive capital flows. Inflation has been reduced to the lowest level in a quarter of a century, allowing the country to pursue policies that benefit the poor and the underprivileged. We are also engaged in a broad and dynamic process of open economic integration with our neighbours, adding economic substance to the political harmony that we enjoy in our region. MERCOSUR — a customs union bringing together Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and Uruguay — is a highly successful political and economic reality, a partner ready for business and cooperation with all countries and regions. Brazil has taken significant steps to further strengthen its commitments to disarmament and to the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. President Cardoso publicly stated that Brazil has forgone the development, acquisition and export of long-range military missiles. Congress is about to approve the Chemical Weapons Convention, and comprehensive legislation on export controls of dual-use technology is being finalized. Having decided unilaterally to abide by the Missile Technology Control Regime’s guidelines, the Brazilian Government is currently discussing its participation in the regime. Brazil’s commitment to peace and understanding was clearly illustrated by its recent role, alongside the other three Guarantor countries of the Rio de Janeiro Protocol, in bringing together two friendly nations in our region — Ecuador and Peru. Brazilian forces are actively participating in various United Nations peace-keeping efforts, particularly in Angola, a country that shares with Brazil a common heritage and is finally on the verge of healing the wounds inflicted by years of internal strife. We are also proud of the role played by our Government and our forces in the peaceful transition to an elected government in Mozambique. After too many years of difficulties, Brazilians have recovered their pride. The country has entered a cycle of long-term growth and greater long-term opportunities, an era of optimism and confidence. It is in this spirit that Brazilian diplomacy is prepared to approach the world and to work within the United Nations. As I reflect upon the events that have taken place over this past year, I am tempted to say that “it was the best of times; it was the worst of times”. It has been a time for legitimate hope, but also a time of fear and horror; a time for accomplishments, but also a time of frustration; a time for confidence in a brighter future for mankind, but also a time of regret for the fact that peace, freedom, justice and well-being are still unattained in many places in the world; a time in which risks and opportunities coexist side by side. 2 Current patterns in international affairs converge on the twin concepts that inspired the revolution of the 1990s: democracy and economic freedom with social justice. This is the main thrust that will shape the coming century and ensure liberty and prosperity for all. The very concept of power has changed. A country’s sovereignty and its capacity to satisfy the needs of its people depend increasingly on good social indicators, political stability, economic competitiveness, and scientific and technological progress, not on military strength. It is now widely understood that the fulfilment of national pride lies in democracy, development, trade and economic wealth, rather than in the quest for hegemony or territorial gains. A new era of freedom is at hand. Countries are peacefully seeking their place in their regions and in the world, helping in the creation of wealth through trade and cooperation. Emerging economies have become a significant force around the world, benefiting from globalization, greater economic freedom and the continued growth of international trade. Economic integration has led to stronger regional ties. Reconstruction and enhanced participation in international affairs are seen in many parts of the world, just as others continue to prosper and grow in peace. New or renewed partnerships have emerged in the five continents. The Middle East is finally following the path of dialogue and understanding, through a peace process that we firmly support and encourage. Angola and Mozambique are the new promises of southern Africa, furthering regional peace and conciliation as the South Africans have done. Latin America, and in particular the Southern Cone countries, has continued to show vitality both at the political level, with democracy fully at work, and at the economic level, with freedom and openness leading to the resumption of growth and the expansion of trade. The United Nations has kept its role in the maintenance of international peace and security. A broader agenda for the remainder of this century is under consideration. Positive initiatives are under way to ensure that the Organization is capable of more effectively promoting peace and development. Reform of the system is also due to make it more responsive to the challenges that lie ahead. The promotion of civil liberties and the quest for equal rights among women and men, minorities and majorities, weak and strong are shaping the debate, guiding action and strengthening citizenship all over the world. These are indeed times of positive change. But even as one celebrates these positive trends, one is painfully aware of the manifold threats posed by the persistence of poverty and violence in many areas of the world. The images of the former Yugoslavia are living proof of past failures and present challenges and misperceptions. They remind us of how much needs to be done to fulfil the promises embodied in the United Nations Charter. Extreme poverty and unemployment emerge as perhaps the most pervasive of the international issues, affecting developed and developing countries alike, corroding the social fabric while fostering extremism on the part of individuals and engendering short-sighted solutions on the part of governments. Terrorism, drug trafficking, organized crime, xenophobia and racism, ethnic cleansing, religious fanaticism and intolerance, and persistent violations of basic human rights continue to afflict millions of human beings. Misguided economic policies, financial speculation and the volatility of capital flows threaten markets on a global scale. Emerging economies, striving to consolidate stability and the resumption of growth while dealing with variables such as interest rates and commodity prices, have become increasingly vulnerable. Disarmament continues to be an elusive goal. The promises heralded by the end of the cold war seem to have vanished in a cloud of vague excuses. The so-called peace dividends have yet to materialize. The world is theoretically less threatening and dangerous. Competitiveness, technological capability, economic strength and social indicators have become the standards of national power. Yet, more positive moves in disarmament and non-proliferation have been offset by anachronistic economic practices and irresponsible military endeavours. Some countries continue to seek military strength and strategic power. Even as commitment to non-proliferation and support for nuclear disarmament gain ground in Latin America, Africa and parts of Asia, nuclear tests painfully remind us of the threats and horrors that haunted the collective imagination during the cold-war years. Besides endangering the environment they 3 encourage the resumption of a purposeless arms race in various parts of the world. Nuclear testing undermines efforts towards disarmament and jeopardizes the conclusion of a comprehensive nuclear-test ban. Instead of helping the international community strengthen collective security mechanisms, certain countries persist in testing and improving their nuclear arsenals. We deplore it. So where does the United Nations stand in the current international scene? How can it deal with the conflicting and ambivalent forces operating in the world today? Where does its responsibility begin and where does it end? What can we do to realize the vision of our founding fathers? These are some of the questions that come to mind as we prepare to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of our Organization. It is certainly true that the Organization may have seemed at times to be overwhelmed by the challenges before it. But it is also true that the shortcomings over these past 50 years would have been greater had it not been for the United Nations, a universal conscience, an instrument for peace and understanding, as no other instrument has ever been, with a moral authority that the peoples of the world have learned to recognize and support. In 1941 when the United Nations was but a distant dream overcast by war, Franklin Delano Roosevelt defined the four freedoms upon which a true community of nations should be built. They were — and I find it useful to recall Roosevelt’s own inspiring words — the freedom of speech and expression; the freedom of every person to worship God in his own way; the freedom from want, which “translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peace time life for its inhabitants”; and the freedom from fear, which “translated into world terms, means a world-wide reduction of armaments to such a point and in such a thorough fashion that no nation will be in a position to commit an act of physical aggression against any neighbor”. Providing mankind with these four freedoms was the challenge that ultimately gave birth to the United Nations. Yet, these four freedoms are still largely unattained. They remain an inspiration and a goal. In the past 50 years, the nations of the world have used this podium to voice their hopes and concerns and to express their feelings about a true international partnership based on peace and prosperity. The United Nations has undoubtedly represented a call for consensus, a moral and ethic force, a promoter of political will and action, a substitute for confrontation and dispute. The time has come for us to carefully assess the achievements and shortcomings of the United Nations in order to set the course for the next half-century. The time has come for us to create the conditions for the United Nations of the twenty-first century. In the aftermath of the Second World War the idea of an international body such as the United Nations may have seemed utopian, especially in the light of the failure of the League of Nations and of the tragedies and crimes that resulted from the pursuit of power politics, the kind of politics that led the world into war and its horrors. While avoiding utopianism, the United Nations was designed to provide actual instruments of diplomatic interaction capable of replacing power politics by ethical values and of promoting conflict prevention and conflict resolution through negotiation and dialogue. With a pledge to peace and security on the one hand and to development on the other, the United Nations helped to write important chapters of contemporary history, such as the building of a new pattern of relationship between developed and developing countries, the search for development, disarmament, the protection of human rights and human dignity, decolonization, the struggle against apartheid and the condemnation of tyranny and oppression. In this process important organizations such as the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), and decisive forums such as the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), and the several other United Nations conferences dedicated to global issues, have played a paramount role. In these forums we have enhanced commitments in the areas of cooperation for development, the law of the sea, the rights of children, the environment and sustainable development, human rights, population, social development and the rights of women. We have certainly accomplished one part of our dreams. So why not set our eyes on further accomplishments? We look at the recent past and find the 4 United Nations at the centre of the most important international events. Even when its action has been constrained by circumstances, the United Nations always displayed moral strength. We look at the present and we see a United Nations limited by its structure, struggling very hard to take advantage of its own experience to adapt to changing world realities in order to remain the foremost international force. And so Brazil confidently looks to the future. Peace and development in the years to come will depend largely on our capacity to renew and reform the United Nations. In institutions, as in human beings, reassessment and reform are a sign of vitality, of maturity, of responsibility. As Brazil has already pointed out a normative gap has opened up between some of the provisions of the Charter and the realities of today’s world. The fact is that most of the structures of the United Nations remain those crafted 50 years ago. Back then, the world was entering a new phase of power politics and confrontation that no longer applies. The membership of the United Nations was less than one third of what it is today. The concept of development was not at the core of an international agenda. Significant players in the developed and in the developing world had yet to achieve the influential role they have today. New realities demand innovative solutions. Greater expectations require stronger commitments. Nothing is more emblematic of the need to bring the United Nations into line with the realities of the post-cold-war world than the reform of the Security Council. As a catalyst for other much-needed reforms within the United Nations system, reform of the Security Council is an imperative that should no longer be put off. In order to carry out its mandate in the field of international peace and security on behalf of all Member States, the Security Council must have unquestionable legitimacy. As is well known, legitimacy ultimately rests on representativeness. Reform cannot entail a wholesale or indiscriminate enlargement of the Security Council, much less an insufficient one predicated on the convenience of a limited number of States. Above all, it will be essential to ensure a more equitable representation of developed and developing countries with both the capacity to act and an effective presence on a global scale. The emergence of new economic powers and of a number of developing countries with global projection has significantly altered the dynamics of world politics. These players have come to the forefront of the international scene and should be present in the core group of permanent members, so that the Council’s composition becomes more balanced and better reflects the diversity of world views. A qualitative increase in the number of permanent members of the Security Council, together with an enlargement of the non-permanent membership, would correspond to the necessity of making it more authoritative and efficient in carrying out its increased responsibilities in the post-cold-war era. Reform is not about the individual prestige of any country but about the prestige of the Security Council itself. Brazil, for its part, is ready to assume its responsibilities in this endeavour. The same attention that is being given to improving the United Nations performance in the area of peace and security must be given to efforts in the area of strengthening international cooperation for development. Poverty and unemployment both in industrialized and in developing nations, economic instability and misguided economic policies affecting individual countries, as well as the persistence or the rise of various forms of protectionism, are factors that adversely affect sustained growth worldwide. These are issues that must be accorded high priority. Unemployment cannot be used as a pretext that will ultimately lead to protectionism directed mainly against the developing countries. There is no use in trying to alleviate unemployment by accusing other people, by creating new forms of disguised protectionism, by putting a new strain on international relations. We must strengthen the role of the World Trade Organization as the mainstay of an open and non-discriminatory multilateral trade system. We must promote a broader coordination of macroeconomic policies and foster regional economic integration, and provide better and more effective cooperation in the areas of health, sanitation, education, the administration of justice and other areas of great social impact. We must widen the decision-making circles in order to include countries whose contribution to these objectives can be instrumental. 5 The United Nations should be able to ensure implementation of the commitments reached at the highest level at the United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development, for much needs to be done to fulfil the promises that were made in Rio de Janeiro regarding international cooperation for sustainable development. The same kind of follow-up should apply to the commitments reached at subsequent international conferences on global issues. These are the main goals to be achieved by a reform of the United Nations institutions that directly or indirectly deal with the issue of sustainable development. We firmly believe that a broad vision of reform of the United Nations institutions will lead to an improved, more efficient and revitalized Organization. For, as once stated in this very forum by a distinguished Brazilian statesman, Oswaldo Aranha, who presided over the first special session of the General Assembly, in 1947: “Above all, it is within our power to make the United Nations the sum total of justice, security and peace, or through our lack of wisdom to allow it to be transformed into one more sword to be wielded blindly by force and instinct.” (Official Records of the General Assembly, First Special Session, 68th plenary meeting, pp. 3 and 4) The United Nations will stand as the greatest symbol of the twentieth century as long as it is able to keep its vitality and effectively promote peace and development. Brazil is also committed to peace and democracy and believes that if all peoples of the world are free to express their ideas and to build their own destinies, democracy will be strengthened and will continue to serve the purpose of development and social justice. Brazil is also committed to, and knows that development depends on, an international environment of peace, cooperation and economic freedom. As our Heads of State and Government prepare to gather in New York in October to celebrate the accomplishments of our Organization, let us hasten to create the necessary conditions for them to build for the future with the same impetus and boldness that inspired the international community 50 years ago. Let us make sure that through our unfaltering commitment and our timely action the United Nations will emerge stronger from the fiftieth session of the General Assembly.