At Summit of the Future, Lula speaks of UN’s “lack of boldness”
In his first speech on his trip to New York for the United Nations (UN) General Assembly, President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said the Pact for the Future, a document to be signed by world leaders in US city, points to a direction to be followed. However, he added, the organization lacks “ambition and boldness” in fulfilling its role.
The Brazilian president spoke at the Summit of the Future on Sunday (Sep. 22). In his view, the global governance crisis requires structural changes. He cited recent armed conflicts worldwide.
“The pandemic, the conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, the arms race, and climate change have laid the limitations of multilateral bodies bare. Most bodies lack the authority and the means of implementation to enforce their decisions. The General Assembly has lost its vitality, and the economic and social council has been depleted,” he declared.
The summit, held prior to the UN General Assembly, brings together world leaders to discuss ways of tackling emerging security crises, speeding up the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, and addressing the threats and opportunities of digital technology.
The Pact for the Future
As positive points of the Pact for the Future, President Lula named the “unprecedented” treatment of key issues, such as the debt of developing countries and international taxation, as well as the creation of a forum for dialogue between heads of state and government and leaders of international financial institutions. This, he argued, should bring the UN back at the center of the global economic debate.
The president also cited progress towards inclusive digital governance that “reduces the asymmetries of a data-driven economy and mitigates the impact of new technologies, like artificial intelligence.” “These strides are commendable and significant, but we still lack ambition and boldness,” he said.
He also criticized the UN Security Council, saying the body’s legitimacy shrinks “every time it applies double standards or omits itself in the face of atrocities.” To his judgment, the Bretton Woods institutions—like the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank—disregard the priorities and needs of the developing world.
“The Global South is not represented in a manner consistent with its current political, economic, and demographic weight,” he argued.
The president said there had been little progress in the multilateral agenda on reforming the UN system over the last 20 years, and cited the Peacebuilding Commission, created in 2005, and the Human Rights Council, put together in 2006, as positive measures. But he warned that the Sustainable Development Goals, despite being the greatest “diplomatic undertaking of recent years,” are heading towards becoming “our greatest collective failure.”
“At the current rate of implementation, only 17 percent of the goals of the 2030 agenda will be achieved on time. As president of the G20, Brazil will launch a global alliance against hunger and poverty, aimed at accelerating the overcoming of these scourges,” he said.
President Lula also said that, at the present pace, greenhouse emission reductions and climate funding will be insufficient to keep the planet safe. “In partnership with the Secretary General [of the UN, António Guterres], in preparation for COP30, we are going to work towards a global ethical balance, bringing together various sectors of society in a bid to think about climate action from the perspective of justice, equity, and solidarity,” he continued.
Human rights
On the subject of human rights, the Brazilian president recalled that the world has a responsibility not to backtrack on the agenda of human rights and the promotion of peace.
“We cannot go backwards in promoting gender equality and in fighting against racism and all forms of discrimination. Nor can we go back to living with nuclear threats. We cannot accept regressing to a world divided into ideological borders or zones of influence. Naturalizing hunger for 733 million people would be shameful. To go back on our commitments is to call into question everything we have built so arduously,” he stated.
Summit for the Future and the General Assembly
In the document produced by the summit, approved Sunday, it was agreed by member states to strengthen global cooperation and establish commitments for better adaptation to current challenges, for the future of renewed and effective multilateralism, and for future generations.
On Tuesday (24), President Lula will make his traditional opening speech to the United Nations General Assembly. Since the 10th session of the summit, the president of Brazil has traditionally been the first country to speak.
