The government of Jair Bolsonaro (PL) gave in to pressure from Israel and instructed the Brazilian mission to the UN to change a vote related to the issue of human rights in Palestine.
In mid-November, at the United Nations Decolonization Commission, the country voted in favor of the resolution entitled “Israeli Practices Affecting the Human Rights of the Palestinian People in the Occupied Palestinian Territory”. At the collegiate meeting, the wording was adopted by 98 votes — there were still 17 against and 52 abstentions.
This Monday (12), the confirmation of the vote was scheduled in the plenary of the General Assembly, in New York. According to diplomats interviewed privately by the Sheet, in most cases Brazil maintains in this instance the position adopted in commissions. Itamaraty, however, formally determined that the delegation abstain from the representation debates.
The vote, in any case, ended up postponed, because the text was sent for analysis by another collegiate, responsible for administrative and budgetary issues.
Itamaraty was approached by the Sheet to comment on the order sent by Brasilia, but did not respond. The order to change the vote caused discomfort among diplomats, who claim that changes of this type between the commission and the plenary send a message of lack of predictability and confidence to other countries in the UN system. They also point out that Brazil has a history of voting in favor of resolutions with similar content analyzed in the past.
In harsh language, the text approved by the decolonization commission demands that Israel stop “all measures contrary to international law […no] occupied Palestinian territory”.
Finally, it criticizes measures such as arrests considered arbitrary, forced displacements and destruction and confiscation of properties.
According to people who follow the issue, pressure from Israel against the text was redoubled due to the inclusion of an item that requests a legal opinion from the International Court of Justice.
The court consultation aims to answer two questions: “What are the legal consequences of Israel’s continued violation of the Palestinian people’s right to self-determination?” and “How do Israel’s practices and policies affect the legal status of the occupation and what legal consequences do this status entail for all states and the United Nations?”
The mention of the International Court of Justice was criticized by Israel during the analysis of the subject in the decolonization commission.
According to a UN statement, the representative of Tel Aviv said at the time that involving the international body “would decimate any chance of reconciliation between Israel and Palestinians”, pointing out that “such resolutions demonize Israel and exempt Palestinians from any responsibility for their current situation”.
The Bolsonaro period in foreign affairs was marked by the adoption of a pro-Israel line on the issues of the conflict in the Middle East discussed in multilateral forums.
Adherence to Israeli theses was deepened during the period in which the Chancellery was commanded by the then Minister Ernesto Araújo. Still in the 2018 presidential campaign, the current president even promised to move the Brazilian embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem — a disputed city, which Israel considers its capital —, but the idea was abandoned after strong opposition from Arab countries and Brazilian agribusiness.
The arrival of Carlos França at the command of Itamaraty moderated the speech. Although he has not abandoned the orientation of getting closer to the Israelis, the current chancellor brought back to the demonstrations in Brazil a language abandoned by Ernesto.
In May 2021, for example, France asked the Israeli Army to exercise “maximum containment” in a conflict in the Gaza Strip and agreed to receive a delegation of Arab ambassadors in Brasília – a group that had no dialogue with its ideologized predecessor.
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