Statement by the Deputy Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations, Ambassador João Genésio de Almeida Filho, at the UNSC Briefing on the DPRK - April 17th, 2023
Mister President,
At the outset, allow me to thank ASG Khiari for his nuanced and informative briefing. I welcome to this meeting the Delegation of the Republic of Korea.
Brazil once again condemns, in the strongest terms, the DPRK’s intercontinental ballistic missile launch of April 12. The launch violated relevant UNSC resolutions, put at risk maritime and air safety as well as endangered neighboring populations, causing an evacuation order to be issued in Hokkaido, Japan.
Yet beyond these risks, which have unfortunately become commonplace in this file, Thursday’s launch represents a dangerous development in the DPRK missile program and in their nuclear capabilities. The DPRK advanced from a liquid-fueled ICBM to a solid-fueled ICBM in a mere six years.
Mister President,
Six years is meaningful. That is the time since our last round of UNSC sanctions, the toughest and broadest round of sanctions yet, which at the time made the DPRK perhaps the most sanctioned country in the world.
The April 12th launch illustrates the fact that sanctions alone have not been and cannot be the solution to this file. A possible tenth round of sanctions, no matter how tough, will not by itself bring the nuclear and missile programs to a halt. The DPRK has shown time and again that they are willing and able to continue to operate under the toughest sanctions ever imposed in order to continue to pursue what they see, rightly or wrongly, as an existential issue.
Mister President,
When we say the Council “must do more” we do not mean “the Council must do more of the same”. More of the same has not worked. It is clear to us that a comprehensive approach is necessary in this file.
We reiterate our position that sanctions can be legitimate and effective when they are multilaterally agreed, strategically targeted and designed to have minimal impact on the civilian population. Even then, they must be part of a broad package that includes a political process that can bring down tensions and advance towards a comprehensive solution to the file.
In our last meeting, Brazil and others laid out a series of practical ideas for facilitating engagement with the DPRK. We suggested the Council make better use of its Chapter VI tools to promote engagement, establish processes and recommend measures of adjustment, working closely with the UN secretariat. We have continued to explore a bigger role for the UN in facilitating contacts with the DPRK and we are encouraged by some of the reactions we have received. We will continue to play a constructive role in identifying how we can help us to establish a process that can bring down tensions and interrupt the current cycle of actions and reactions.
Engagement, not isolation, remains the best path towards achieving our shared goal of a Korean Peninsula that is stable, peaceful and free of nuclear weapons.
And I thank you.