Brazil’s first participation in the United Nations Security Council dates back to 1946. A founding member of the UN, the country was part of the first configuration of the Council, at that time still based in London, and was the second country to exercise its rotating presidency.
With Europe destroyed and the world convulsed by the effects of the Second World War, it was up to the Brazilian representative, Ambassador Cyro Freitas-Valle, to lead, for a month, the work of that newly created collective security mechanism.
In its first months of operation, the Security Council was grappling with complaints raised by Syria and Lebanon against the presence of British and French troops in their territories. Brazil voted against the permanence of foreign military personnel in those countries and in favor of the principles of non-intervention and sovereign equality of states, today enshrined in the Federal Constitution as guides for Brazil’s foreign relations.
In the month of July, Brazil will once again exercise the presidency of the Security Council, as it has done countless times, in its 11 terms in the body, over the 75 years of the UN’s existence. Challenges to international peace and security remain significant, and divergences in the Council are currently intensifying, as they were during the long years of the Cold War.
The conflict in Ukraine has heightened the clashes in the Council and has generated, in addition to great human suffering, strong systemic disturbances, which affect energy and food security around the world. The body has been unable to make decisions on the situation in Ukraine — even on issues that should unite all members, such as ensuring access to humanitarian assistance and protecting civilians.
In the face of these geopolitical tensions, Brazilian diplomacy will seek, during its presidency of the Security Council, to open spaces for dialogue between members with a view to favoring the construction of solutions to the challenges to peace and international security on the body’s agenda that month.
The situation in Ukraine will certainly be dealt with from the perspective of its impact on world food security, but it will also be necessary to insist on promoting serious dialogue leading to the end of the armed conflict.
The Brazilian presidency’s agenda will also include important negotiations on UN mandates in Libya, Syria, Haiti, Cyprus and Yemen, as well as discussions on the peace mission in Colombia, humanitarian issues and children in armed conflict.
For the reasons already mentioned, there is an urgent need to increase the representativeness of the UN member states in the Council, so that their discussions and decisions gain legitimacy. In 1945, there were 51 member states in the organization, of which 11 held seats on the Security Council. Today, there are 193 members and only 15 sit on the Council – five of which are permanent members.
Brazil continues to advocate a comprehensive reform of the organization, including the configuration of the Security Council. And we remain one of the best candidates for permanent membership, representing the developing world and our region, Latin America and the Caribbean, which has never had a permanent member, as is the case with Africa.
By exercising the presidency of the Security Council in July 2022, Brazil will reaffirm its solid credentials to occupy a permanent seat on the body.
On July 12, I will have the honor to chair the Security Council’s open debate on the topic of strategic communication in peace missions, with the presence of the UN Secretary-General. UN peace missions are created to help maintain post-conflict peace and build the means for lasting peace. They are increasingly complex and pose high risks for blue helmets.
Strategic communication aims to curb violence, promote respect for human rights and present the UN’s objectives in each area of action to the local population and to all the actors involved. Effective strategic communication contributes to ensuring the safety of blue helmets and the implementation of the mandate of each peace mission approved by the Security Council.
Since 1956, when Brazil sent a battalion to the United Nations Emergency Force in Sinai, some 55,000 Brazilian military, police and civilian personnel have worked to promote peace under the light blue United Nations flag. And a great Brazilian, Sérgio Vieira de Mello, died defending that same flag of peace, in Iraq.
July will be a month of intense work, which will require diplomatic skill and concerted effort to carry out the entire program, with the added challenge of promoting a spirit of cooperation among Security Council members. Brazilian diplomacy will spare no effort to contribute to the maintenance of international peace and security, as it has done since 1946.
