Brazil has been insisting on the same thing for almost three decades, but February 2024 offered it the ideal constellation: it presides over the G20 in the midst of a serious international crisis that manifests itself in the war in Ukraine and Israel's war against Hamas.. It is time, believes Itamaraty's experienced diplomacy, to change the architecture of world power.
“Multilateral institutions are ill-equipped to face current challenges, as demonstrated by the unacceptable paralysis of the Security Council in relation to ongoing conflicts,” said Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira during the meeting of foreign ministers held this year. Wednesday and Thursday in Rio de Janeiro.
“This state of inaction directly implies the loss of innocent lives,” he insisted.. “Without peace and cooperation it will be extremely difficult to achieve the promised large-scale mobilization of the resources necessary to address the existential threats we face, in particular the fight against poverty and inequality and the protection of the environment.”
Vieira knows well what he is talking about, because he had the honor of being chancellor of his country twice.. First in a brief period before the impeachment ended the government of Dilma Rousseff, and now in the third presidency of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. The chancellor explained in detail his proposal to reform the UN Security Council in an interview with EL MUNDO in 2023.
“We were always on the side of those who want to reform the council, because it is losing legitimacy, because it no longer represents the countries and the United Nations of 2023.. At the time of its creation, the United Nations comprised 54 countries, today there are almost four times more, 193. Africa, a gigantic continent with a large population and 54 countries, is not represented on the Security Council.. “Latin America, also an important region, is not there, and neither are other important international players such as India or South Africa.”.
Brazil's position has, among other important countries, the support of Germany.
“Unfortunately, international institutions reflect the world of the last century, which is deeply unjust. Especially in large financial institutions, such as the World Bank and the IMF, the majority of states are not represented,” said German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock in an interview broadcast this Thursday by “O Globo.”
“We, as Germans and as the European Union, want to change that, also in the Security Council. We are working with Brazil and also with South Africa. We are also working with India and other countries to make clear that the UN Security Council no longer reflects the world today and that it is crucial to move in this direction. Last year we had a small success at the G20, and I personally campaigned a lot for this within the EU. “The African Union finally has a permanent seat at the G20 table and this must now be expanded in the financial institutions, but also at the UN in New York.”
Brazil also obtained the support of the EU in the voice of its High Representative for Foreign Policy, the Spanish Josep Borrell: “Brazil has managed to put on the table the concern that the emerging world is becoming one of the most important leaders of the world, in fact. And this proposal is very significant. We will see how it is accepted. But one thing is for sure, if the Security Council has more and more vetoes, it will become less and less useful.”
The former Spanish Foreign Minister believes that the US vetoes on Gaza and Russia on Ukraine imply a “blockade” of the United Nations, an organization born from the still smoking rubble of World War II with the aim of maintaining the international peace and security.
“There is no trust between members of the global community, and the world is increasingly polarized. “It's not just about disagreements about conflict resolution, but about something much more existential, which is life and death,” Borrell said.
“Our goal is to make what we have work better, not necessarily create something new. Our goal is to make institutions work. And to do this, the more participants we have at the table, the better.. Changing the rules of what exists today is more complicated,” concluded the head of European diplomacy.
After the presidencies of India (2022), Indonesia (2023) and Brazil (2024), the G20 will be led in 2025 by South Africa, before a great power such as the United States takes over in 2026.
Brazil has dedicated special attention and work to its presidency, with the aim of reinstalling Lula as a world leader and advancing the reform of international institutions.. Thus, the foreign ministers will meet again within the framework of the G20 on the sidelines of the United Nations (UN) general assembly, in September in New York.
“There we will call for action. The role of the G20 is to give political impetus to the great debates. “What we want is a political impulse that makes it clear that we have obsolete international institutions and that, whether we like it or not, we must reform them,” a senior source from the Brazilian Presidency told “O Globo.”. “This applies to both political and economic organizations.. With this call to action alone, our presidency will be more than successful. And the G20 is not an international organization. It is a governance mechanism. “If institutions worked, maybe the G20 wouldn't even be necessary.”