Explanation of Vote by the Delegation of Brazil on the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (Adoptions) - May 26th, 2022

Madam President,

As a country committed to the international disarmament and the non-proliferation regime, as well as to the UN Charter and the decisions of this Council, Brazil voted in favor of the resolution.

Brazil condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the launches of a series of ballistic missiles by the DPRK, especially intercontinental ballistic missiles, in violation of multiple Security Council resolutions.

Council unity, at this point, would have been critical in order to send a clear message to the DPRK that the body which bears the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security will not tolerate the violation of its decisions or disregard for the UN Charter. Moreover, if adopted, this resolution would have also sent a powerful message of deterrence to other potential proliferators.

We convey our appreciation to you and your team, Madam President, for the transparent and inclusive manner with which you led the negotiation process for this draft. Taking into consideration the concerns of different Council members with regards to technical, security and humanitarian aspects of the text helped us achieve a more robust and legitimate result. The draft outlines important and innovative elements, such as those related to measures to combat malicious cyber activities and to establish a list of well-defined categories of items for humanitarian purposes, taking into account the recent COVID-19 outbreak faced by the North-Korean population.

Although we share concerns about the humanitarian impact of sanctions and about their effectiveness in changing a State's behavior, especially in cases of comprehensive sanctions regimes that tend to last indefinitely in time, we understand that the UN Security Council cannot turn a blind eye to its responsibilities. We need firm and timely responses to violations of the Council's decisions, or we risk becoming irrelevant.

I thank you!