Lula denounces collapse of multilateralism at BRICS Summit

HAVANA, Cuba, July 6 (ACN) During the session Peace and Security, Global Governance Reform of the 17th BRICS Summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva denounced in no uncertain terms the serious crisis facing multilateralism today and stressed the urgent need to reform international governance structures.

He remarked that the creation of the United Nations marked the defeat of Nazi-fascism and the birth of collective hope, but warned that the world is now witnessing an unprecedented collapse of multilateralism and a most adverse scenario marked by an increasingly threatened autonomy of the Global South countries.

Mr. da Silva noted that many members of the BRICS were founding members of the UN and key players in the Bandung Conference, which in 1955 rejected the division of the world into zones of influence and defended a multipolar international order.

Among the worst setbacks he mentioned the attacks on international climate and trade regimes, the fragility of the global health system—exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic—and the "absurd demands on intellectual property" that hinder access to medicines, as well as the unprecedented number of conflicts since World War II and the recent decision by NATO to step up military spending.

"It is easier to allocate 5 % of the GDP to military spending than the 0.7 % promised for Official Development Assistance," he lamented, and remarked that the fear of a nuclear catastrophe has returned to everyday life and decried the genocide unleashed by Israel in the Gaza Strip, where civilians are being killed indiscriminately and hunger is used as a weapon of war.

The Brazilian leader reaffirmed his country's commitment to peace and dialogue and, despite the alarming scenario, recognized major advances of multilateralism such as the decolonization process and the prohibition of chemical weapons.

He also proposed an in-depth transformation of the UN Security Council with the inclusion of new permanent members from Asia, Africa, and Latin America. “More than just a question of justice, it's about ensuring the very survival of the UN," he emphasized.

Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel Bermúdez, who attended the BRICS Summit in Johannesburg, South Africa in his capacity as President of the G77+China, is participating in this edition, held under the theme "Strengthening Global South Cooperation for More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance."