Speech by President Lula at the meeting of G20 Foreign Ministers

Transmissão realizada pelo Canal Gov

I would like to welcome everyone to this meeting of G20 Foreign Ministers.

I’d like to thank the President of the General Assembly Philémon Yang and the Secretary-General António Guterres for their presence.

It is an honor to speak after President Ramaphosa.

For the first time in history,  the G20 countries are gathered at the UN headquarters in an event open to all members of the  Organization.

This was not a trivial decision. 

It is coherent with our core belief that the United Nations are and must continue to be the heart of the multilateral system.

Brazil is working hard to ensure the G20 agenda can present concrete advancements.

At the core of our priorities is the fight against inequality in all its forms.

This concern permeates the three pillars that guide our  presidency.

The first is social inclusion.

In July, we adopted the foundations of the Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty, which is now open for membership and will be officially launched in November.

The Alliance will mobilize technical and financial  resources to promote a pool of public policies with confirmed efficacy against these scourges.

The second pillar is addressing climate change. 

The G20 is responsible for 80% of all greenhouse emissions. 

Its leadership in the mission to restraining global warming to one and a half degree will make a huge difference for the entire planet.

Brazil has brought to the climate debate stakeholders such as central banks and public development banks so as to ensure a just transition. 

We have approved the first document on the bioeconomy that was multilaterally agreed upon.

The third pillar is the reform of global governance, the main focus of this meeting.

As I said yesterday in my speech at the opening of the General Assembly, the international community is running around in circles.

We have not been able to respond to global challenges because we exchanged multilateralism for unilateral actions or excluding arrangements.

We have not been working together because multilateral institutions have lost their credibility. 

To break this vicious cicle, we need the courage to change and the dedication to overcome our differences. 

Our response capacity is particularly impaired by the lack of representativeness that affects international organizations.

If the wealthy countries wish to have the support of the developing world to address the multiple crises of our time, the Global South must be fully represented in the main decision-making forums.

This requires at least three major focus areas, which are reflected in the Call for Action endorsed by the G20 and that the chancellors will discuss this morning.

The first is to eliminate the strongly regressive character of international financing architecture.

Developing countries face disproportionate costs and difficulties for obtaining funding when compared to the rich countries.

Interest rates imposed upon the Global South countries are much higher than those applied to developed nations.

The level of debt that severely affects some developing countries strangles any investment in infrastructure, well-being, and sustainability.

In 2022, the difference between the amounts paid by the developing world to foreign creditors and that which it received was of 49 billion dollars.

There is more money coming out of these countries than going in.

Taxes on the super-rich is a way to combat inequality and direct resources to development priorities and climate action.

The UN and its Secretary-General must once again occupy a central role in the discussions about economic and financial issues of global relevance. 

When the IMF and the World Bank were created, their executive boards had 12 seats for a universe of 44 countries. Today, there are 25 seats for over 193 countries. 

If the original proportions had been kept, these boards should now have at least 52 seats.

This logic of exclusion is reproduced in several levels.

In the green funds, forested and megadiverse countries are forced to share seats while wealthy countries occupy exclusive seats.

The second pillar is rethinking the international trade system.  

Nobody remembers the Doha Development Round anymore.

The WTO is currently paralyzed due to geopolitical and economic interests.

Reversing the new drive towards protectionism, which disproportionately impairs the developing countries, is key to ensuring a more equitable trade.

These changes will have limited impact in the absence of effective reforms.

The third is promoting a comprehensive reform of the UN.

At the time of its inauguration in 1945, the member-States opted for collaboration to prevent fragmentation.

This required enormous political will and great wisdom.

Today we are faced with a similar choice.

51 countries founded the United Nations. Currently, we are 193 member-States.

Brazil stands firm in its historic position: the UN must always be at the center of global governance.

The Organization is going through a crisis of trust, which must be reestablished.

The Pact for the Future represents an important step in this direction.

However, we  cannot avoid structural transformations.

The General Assembly is the UN's most democratic level. In it, each State, regardless of the size of its population or its economy, has the right to express its voice.

We must also strengthen other bodies, such as the Economic and Social Council.

The ECOSOC must occupy its place at the forefront of the promotion of sustainable development.

It must fulfill a more active role in monitoring the goals of the 2030 Agenda and beyond, and of the climate commitments.

In its current configuration, the Security Council has proven incapable of solving conflicts, and even less capable of preventing them.

Its procedures lack transparency. Its decisions lack  coherence.

Millions of people suffer the consequences of this inefficiency.

With more representativeness, especially from Africa and Latin America and the Caribbean, we will stand more chances to overcome the polarization that paralyzes the council.

So that is why Brazil considers to present a proposal to call for a conference to review the UN Charter on the basis of its article 109.

Each country may have its own vision regarding the ideal model for reforming the global governance system.

However, we must all agree that the reform is fundamental and urgent.

Ladies and gentlemen,

Criticizing without taking action is a sterile exercise that ends in discouragement.

But admitting that there are cracks to be repaired is the first step into building something better.

Each day we go by with an archaic and excluding structure  is a day lost in the quest for solutions for the grave crises that afflict humanity.

I am certain that everyone here is committed to the future of the United Nations and will work with dedication in favor of a “Just World and a Sustainable Planet”, as the motto of our G20 Presidency states.

You can count on Brazil to promote a renewed and reinvigorated multilateral system. 

I wish you all a great meeting.

Thank you very much.