Brazil

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.