Declaração da Delegação do Brasil em reunião do Conselho de Segurança sobre a RPDC - 26 de maio de 2022 (texto em inglês)

United Nations Security Council

Consultations 1718 Committee - DPRK

UNSC Chamber, 26 May 2022

Statement by the Delegation of Brazil

Madam President,

At the outset, I would like to thank the Chair of the 1718 Committee for her very comprehensive briefing on the activities carried out by the Committee since 25 February. I would also like to commend her work chairing the 1718 Committee, which, despite all the difficulties faced in recent times, has been able to carry out the tasks entrusted upon it in a steadfast and professional manner.

Madam President,

Yesterday we gathered in this room to try to give an appropriate response to the threat to international peace and security posed by the DPRK's 23 ballistic missile launches, including at least 6 ICBMs. Unfortunately, we could not achieve a satisfactory result.

As of today, a new stage in the work of this Council begins. The impossibility of reaching an agreement yesterday, even after two months of intense negotiations, means that we need to do even more to understand the concerns of others and to try to bridge gaps between our positions. If we have the common goal of achieving the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, we must also find a common way to pursue this goal.

For years, issues relating to nuclear proliferation - and specifically proliferation on the Korean Peninsula - have been a point of convergence between the members of this Council, both permanent and elected. While it is undeniable that the international environment has undergone fundamental transformations in recent years, the threat posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction remains and needs to be properly addressed.

Madam President,

A fundamental difference between members of this Council in the treatment of the North Korean nuclear file is the issue of sanctions: their relevance, their effectiveness, their humanitarian impacts. Brazil is one of the countries that shares concerns about sanctions, especially when sanction regimes tend to be comprehensive and last indefinitely over time. We are therefore in favor of carrying out an in-depth reflection on the efficiency and humanitarian impacts of sanctions in the case of the DPRK, with the able assistance of the 1718 Committee and the Panel of Experts.

On the other hand, we cannot simply turn a blind eye to the persistent escalation of provocations from the DPRK, which poses an increasing threat not only at the regional, but at the global level. Besides the more than 20 ballistic missiles launched this year, there is ample evidence of resumption of preparations for a new nuclear test, in addition to offensive rhetoric regarding the possibility of using nuclear weapons, which, according to the North Korean leadership, is no longer restricted to deterrent purposes.

Madam President,

Brazil once again calls upon the DPRK to review its nuclear status, rejoin the Non-Proliferation Treaty as a Non-Nuclear-Weapon State and accede to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty without delay.

Furthermore, I call upon members of this Council to put aside whatever differences and interests they may have in other areas and focus solely on our common goal of denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. Only then will we be able to achieve any meaningful results on this file.

I thank you!