Lula advocates UN reform: ‘The post of secretary-general has never been held by a woman’

Brasil de Fato

On Tuesday morning (24), President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Workers’ Party) advocated reform of the United Nations (UN) in New York, United States.  

Lula was applauded by heads of state and members of delegations from foreign countries when he said that “there is no gender balance in the exercise of the highest functions [of the UN]. The post of secretary-general has never been held by a woman.” 

“It is time to react vigorously to this situation, restoring the organization and the prerogatives that derive from its status as a global forum. One-off adjustments are not enough. We need to consider a broad revision of the [UN] charter,” said the president.

The reform, in his words, should include four points. The first is to include sustainable development issues and the fight against climate change in the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), with “real capacity to inspire financial institutions.”

The other points are updating the theme of international peace and security, given the growing scenario of conflicts and wars around the world; strengthening a peace-building agenda; and a specific reform of the United Nations Security Council, “focusing on its composition, working methods and right of veto, to make it more effective and representative of contemporary reality.”

The Chief Executive also said that the exclusion of Latin American and African countries from permanent seats on the Security Council “is an unacceptable echo of dominance from the colonial past.” 

“The will of the majority can persuade those who cling to the crude expressions of the mechanisms of power. The aspirations of humanity are echoed by this plenary session. Here we hold the world’s greatest debates. In this forum, we seek answers to the problems that afflict the planet. It is up to the General Assembly, the greatest expression of multilateralism, to pave the way for the future,” concluded the president.

Read below Lula’s speech in full:              

“I greet the President of the General Assembly, Philemon Yang. I would also like to greet Secretary-General António Guterres and each of the Heads of State and Government and attending delegates. I would particularly like to address the Palestinian delegation, which is taking part in this opening session for the first time, albeit as an observing member. I would also like to salute the presence of President Mahmoud Abbas.

Ladies and gentlemen, the day before yesterday, here in this very space, we adopted the Pact for the Future. Its difficult approval demonstrates the weakening of our collective capacity for negotiation and dialogue. Its limited scope is also an expression of the paradox of our time: we move around in circles among feasible commitments that lead to insufficient results. Not even after the tragedy of COVID-19 were we able to unite for a Pandemics Treaty at the World Health Organization. We need to go much further and provide the UN with the necessary means to face the vertiginous changes in the international panorama.

We live in a time of increasing anguish, frustration, tension, and fear. We are witnessing the alarming escalation of geopolitical disputes and strategic rivalries.

The year 2023 holds the sad record for the highest number of conflicts since the Second World War. Global military spending increased for the ninth consecutive year — reaching 2.4 trillion dollars. More than 90 billion dollars have been secured for nuclear arsenals. These resources could have been used to combat hunger and address climate change. What we are seeing is an increase in military capabilities. The use of force with no support in international law is becoming the rule. We are witnessing two simultaneous conflicts with the potential to become widespread confrontations.

In Ukraine, it is with regret that we see that the war is ongoing with no prospect of peace. Brazil has firmly condemned the invasion of Ukrainian territory. It is already clear that neither side will be able to achieve all of its goals through military means. The use of increasingly destructive weapons brings to mind the darkest times of the sterile confrontation of the Cold War.

At this time, creating conditions for resuming direct dialog between the parties is crucial. This is the message of the six-point understanding that China and Brazil are offering to establish a process of dialogue and an end to hostilities.

 In Gaza and the West Bank, we are witnessing one of the greatest humanitarian crises in recent history, now spreading dangerously to Lebanon. What began as a terrorist act by fanatics against innocent Israeli civilians has become a collective punishment for the entire Palestinian people. There are more than 40,000 fatal victims, most of them women and children.

The right to defense has become the right to revenge, which prevents an agreement to release hostages and postpones the ceasefire. Forgotten conflicts in Sudan and Yemen are causing atrocious suffering to almost 30 million people.

This year, the number of people in need of humanitarian aid in the world will reach 300 million. In times of increasing polarization, expressions such as “deglobalization” have become popular. But it is impossible to “deplanetize” our shared lives. We are condemned to the interdependence of climate change. The planet no longer waits to hold the next generation accountable and is tired of unfulfilled climate agreements. It is weary of neglected carbon emission reduction targets and of financial aid to poor countries that never arrives. Denialism is succumbing to the evidence of global warming.

The year 2024 is on track to be the hottest year in modern history. Hurricanes in the Caribbean, typhoons in Asia, droughts and floods in Africa, and torrential rains in Europe are leaving a trail of death and destruction. In southern Brazil, we have had the worst flooding since 1941. The Amazon is facing its worst drought in 45 years. Wildfires have spread across the country and already destroyed 5 million hectares in August alone.

My government does not outsource its responsibilities or abdicate its sovereignty. We have already done a lot, but we know that more has to be done. In addition to facing the challenge of the climate crisis, we are fighting against those who profit from environmental degradation. We will not make compromises in our fight against environmental crimes, illegal mining, and organized crime.

We have reduced deforestation in the Amazon by 50% in the last year, and we will eradicate it by 2030. It is no longer acceptable to consider solutions for tropical rainforests without listening to indigenous peoples, traditional communities, and all those who live in them.

Our vision of sustainable development is based on the potential of the bioeconomy. Brazil is going to host COP30 in 2025, and is convinced that multilateralism is the only way to overcome the climate emergency.

Our Nationally Determined Contribution — NDC — will be presented later this year, in line with the goal of limiting the increase in the planet’s temperature to one and a half degrees. Brazil is emerging as a source of opportunities in a world that is being revolutionized by the energy transition. Today, we are one of the countries with the cleanest energy matrix. Altogether, 90% of our electricity comes from renewable sources such as biomass, hydroelectric, solar, and wind power. We opted for biofuels 50 years ago, long before the discussion about alternative energy sources gained leverage. We are at the forefront of other important niches such as the production of green hydrogen. It is time to address the debate about the slow pace of global decarbonization, and to work towards an economy that is less dependent on fossil fuels.

Mr. President Guterres, Latin America has been experiencing a second lost decade since 2014. The region’s average growth during this period was just 0.9%, half of what was recorded in the lost decade of the 1980s. This combination of low levels of growth and high levels of inequality has had a negative impact on the political landscape. Swallowed up by disputes, often unrelated to the region, our vocation for cooperation and understanding is weakened.

It is unjustifiable to keep Cuba on a unilateral list of states that allegedly promote terrorism, and to impose unilateral coercive measures that unduly penalize the most vulnerable populations. In Haiti, it is urgent to combine actions to restore public order and promote development. In Brazil, the defense of democracy implies permanent action against extremist, messianic, and totalitarian attacks that spread hatred, intolerance, and resentment. Brazilians will continue to defeat those who try to undermine institutions and place them at the service of reactionary interests. Democracy must respond to the legitimate aspirations of those who no longer accept hunger, inequality, unemployment, and violence.

In a globalized world, it makes no sense to resort to false patriots and isolationists. Nor is there hope in resorting to ultra-liberal experiments that only worsen the difficulties of an impoverished continent. The future of our region depends, above all, on building a sustainable, efficient, and inclusive State that confronts all forms of discrimination — that is not intimidated by individuals, corporations, or digital platforms that believe they are above the law.

Freedom is the first victim of a world without rules. Essential elements of sovereignty include the right to legislate, to adjudicate disputes, and to enforce rules within one’s territory, including in the digital environment. The State we are building is sensitive to the needs of the most vulnerable, but without abandoning sound macroeconomic foundations. The false opposition between State and market has been abandoned by developed nations, which have returned to practicing active industrial policies and strong regulation of the domestic economy.

In the field of Artificial Intelligence, we are experiencing the consolidation of asymmetries that lead to a true oligopoly of knowledge. Unprecedented concentration in the hands of a small number of people and companies, headquartered in an even smaller number of countries, is advancing. We are interested in an emancipatory Artificial Intelligence that also reflects the Global South and strengthens cultural diversity. One that respects human rights, protects personal data, and promotes information integrity. And, above all, one that is a tool for peace, not war. We need an intergovernmental governance of Artificial Intelligence, in which all States have a seat.

Mr. President, the conditions for accessing financial resources remain prohibitive for most low- and middle-income countries. The debt burden limits fiscal space to invest in health and education, reduce inequality and tackle climate change. African countries borrow at rates that are up to eight times higher than Germany’s and four times higher than the United States’. It is a reverse Marshall Plan, in which the poorest finance the richest. Without greater participation of developing countries in the management of the IMF and the World Bank, there will be no effective change.

While the Sustainable Development Goals are lagging behind, the 150 largest companies in the world have together profited 1.8 trillion dollars over the last two years. The fortunes of the world’s top five billionaires have more than doubled since the beginning of this decade, while 60% of humanity has become poorer. The super-rich pay proportionally much less taxes than the working class. To correct this anomaly, Brazil has insisted on international cooperation towards developing minimum global taxation standards.

The data released two months ago by the FAO on the state of food insecurity around the world is shocking. The number of people going hungry around the world has increased by more than 152 million since 2019. This means that 9% of the world’s population — 733 million people — are undernourished. The problem is particularly serious in Africa and Asia, but it also persists in parts of Latin America. Women and girls make up the majority of people suffering from hunger in the world.

Pandemics, armed conflicts, climate events, agricultural subsidies from rich countries are all increasing the scope of this scourge. But hunger is not only the result of external factors. It is mainly the result of political choices. Today, the world produces more than enough food to eradicate it. What is missing is the creation of conditions for access to food. This is the most urgent commitment of my government: to end hunger in Brazil, as we did in 2014. In 2023 alone, we lifted 24 million, 400 thousand people out of a situation of severe food insecurity. The Global Alliance against Hunger and Poverty, which we will launch in Rio de Janeiro in November, is born of this political will and this spirit of solidarity. It will be one of the main results of the Brazilian presidency of the G20 and is open to all countries in the world. All those who wish to join in this collective effort are welcome.

Mr. President, ladies and gentlemen, as the United Nations Charter approaches its 80th anniversary, it has never undergone a comprehensive reform. Only four amendments were approved, all of them between 1965 and 1973. The current version of the Charter fails to address some of humanity’s most pressing challenges. When the UN was founded, there were 51 countries. Today, there are 193. Several nations, mainly on the African continent, were under colonial rule and had no say in their objectives and operations.

There is no gender balance in its highest positions. The position of Secretary-General has never been held by a woman. We are approaching the end of the first quarter of the 21st century and the United Nations is increasingly weakened and paralyzed. It is time to react vigorously to this situation, restoring the organization and the prerogatives that derive from its status as a global forum. One-off adjustments are not enough. We need to consider a broad revision of the [UN] charter. Its reform should include the following goals:

1) the transformation of the Economic and Social Council into the main forum for addressing sustainable development and combating climate change, with a real capacity to inspire financial institutions;

2) the revitalization of the role of the General Assembly, including in matters of international peace and security;

3) the strengthening of the Peacebuilding Commission.

4) the reform of the Security Council, focusing on its composition, working methods and right of veto, in order to make it more effective and representative of contemporary reality

The exclusion of Latin America and Africa from permanent seats on the Security Council is an unacceptable echo of dominance from the colonial past. We will promote this discussion in a transparent manner in consultations at the G77, G20, BRICS, CELAC, and CARICOM, among many other spaces. I have no illusions about the complexity of a reform like this, which will face crystallized interests in maintaining the status quo. It will require an enormous negotiation effort — but that is our responsibility. We cannot wait for another global tragedy, like the Second World War, to build a new global governance on its ruins.

The will of the majority can persuade those who cling to the crude expressions of the mechanisms of power. The aspirations of humanity are echoed by this plenary session. Here we hold the world’s greatest debates. In this forum, we seek answers to the problems that afflict the planet. It is up to the General Assembly, the greatest expression of multilateralism, to pave the way for the future.

Thank you very much and good luck.”