The Brazilian presidency of the Security Council of the United Nations (UN) ends this Wednesday (1st). Brazil’s diplomacy tried but failed to pass a resolution that could lead the conflict between Israel and Hamas to a ceasefire or the opening of humanitarian corridors for the evacuation of civilians from the Gaza Strip.
In November this year, the presidency of the rotating council will pass to China.
O g1 heard from diplomat Marcos Azambuja, former Secretary General of Itamaraty and former Foreign Minister Aloysio Nunes.
Some points they raised for a resolution that has not yet been passed are:
- US demands in favor of Israel
- “visceral rivalry” between the USA and Russia
- It is not possible to take into account the interests of all countries
Read below in detail:
United States requirements
For Azambuja, who also served as a UN diplomat, one of the obstacles to passing a resolution was the United States’ demand that the text express Israel’s right to act in response to terrorist attacks by Hamas.
In his opinion, this would not have the support of the other council members. The body consists of 10 nonpermanent and 5 permanent members: the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom. A resolution is only approved if the consent of these 5 is given at the same time.
A resolution put to a vote in the Council received positive votes, but the United States used its veto power.
“In my opinion, Brazil acted professionally. It achieved an extraordinary result by receiving 12 votes in favor (…) The United States would veto any resolution that did not contain a direct expression of support for Israel’s right to act, which we could not include in the draft resolution. “Brazil acted with prudence and professionalism,” he said
For the diplomat, the debate about the war between Israel and Hamas in the Security Council is not yet fully developed.
Asked whether Brazil should have focused its efforts on countries with veto power, Azambuja said he understood that “it wouldn’t make a difference.”
UN: Security Council negotiates new resolution on war between Israel and Hamas
USRussia rivalry
The Michel Temer government’s foreign minister, former senator Aloysio Nunes Ferreira, said that in his opinion the council did not approve the resolutions because of the “visceral rivalry” between the United States and Russia.
Aloysio Nunes also assessed that the resolution proposed by Brazil is “balanced” and “does not confront any of the major powers” but encounters differences between other countries in the Council.
“[O ministro] Mauro Vieira and [o embaixador do Brasil na ONU] Sergio Danese was absolutely impeccable. Brazil had an articulation that achieved enormous success. […] “Brazil has demonstrated its ability to negotiate, especially on an issue that characterizes us at the United Nations, namely the question of peace, the search for peaceful solutions to conflicts,” he explained.
Brazilian diplomats even focused on negotiations with representatives of the United States and Russia with the aim of avoiding the socalled cross veto between the countries, but the coordination did not work.
On Tuesday evening in New York, Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira spoke about the country’s performance in October after attending Brazil’s last day as Council President.
Vieira said that Brazil and other nonpermanent members of the Council tried to gather common points from the four resolutions presented, but failed to reach a consensus that included all five permanent members.
The minister explained that it was now up to China, the new country to take over the presidency of the Council, to try to develop a text that could be approved. Vieira emphasized that there are still many disagreements.
President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva has frequently advocated for reform of the UN Security Council.
For Lula, the group needs more countries, for example Brazil, Japan, Germany and South Africa. The president has also stated that the veto power of countries with permanent seats is “crazy” and that he is “radically” opposed to the prerogative.
According to Azambuja, the current scenario in which the Council cannot agree to a resolution on the Middle East “reinforces” the need for reform. However, he points out: “The obstacles are greater than the wishes.”
In the same vein, Aloysio Nunes believes that the Council needs to be more “representative” since it still represents the geopolitics of the 1940s.