Geurasia

Global South leaders raised their voice at UN General Assembly

Photo: AFP/Vanessa Carvalho

Eurasia 21/09/2023 07:00

Reforms in multilateral institutions, both political and financial, must reflect the need of the changing world which is multipolar and against hegemonic practices, leaders from the Global South said at the UN General Assembly.

On the first day of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, September 19, countries from the Global South raised the demand for urgent reforms in multilateral institutions, both political and economic, for a just and democratic world order.

“We will remain critical of any attempt to divide the world into zones of influence and to revive the Cold War. The UN Security Council is gradually losing its credibility. This fragility stems in particular from the actions of its permanent members, who wage unauthorized wars in pursuit of territorial expansion or regime change. Its paralysis is the most eloquent proof of the need and urgency to reform it and make it more representative and effective,” said Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in his speech.

“In the most important instances of global governance, negotiations in which all countries have a voice and a vote have lost momentum. When institutions reproduce inequalities, they are part of the problem, not part of the solution", Lula added. The South American leader also criticized the weakening of the multilateral trading system, saying that protectionism by rich countries has gained strength. “The World Trade Organization remains paralyzed, especially its dispute settlement system.”

According to Lula, the BRICS was born in the wake of this “paralysis” and represents a strategic platform to promote cooperation among these countries. “The recent expansion of the group at the Johannesburg Summit strengthens the struggle for an order that takes into account the economic, geographical and political plurality of the 21st century,” he said.

“We are a force for fairer world trade in the context of a serious crisis of multilateralism,” he said of the addition of six new members to the group, which already includes Brazil, Russia, China, India and South Africa.

AFP/Bryan R. Smith

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa underlined how the recently held BRICS summit in Johannesburg had “affirmed the voice that the UN Security Council should be reformed and ensure that those nations that are not represented must be represented.”

Other leaders, such as Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi emphasized the need for regional peace and the end of all kinds of external meddling in regional affairs. Cuban President Miguel Díaz-Canel, who is also the chair of the G77+China bloc, presented the views of the grouping, saying that “the G77 calls for rights and will continue to demand a profound transformation of the current international financial architecture because it is deeply unjust, anachronistic and dysfunctional.”

Díaz-Canel also criticized the use of unilateral and unjustified economic blockades by countries such as the US against countries including Cuba and others in the Global South. He noted how this harms global development and peace and demanded the end of such practices.

AFP/Anadolu Agency/Murat Kula

"The Security Council is no longer the guarantor of international security and has become a battleground where the political strategies of five countries clash," said Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

“We must immediately restructure institutions under the UN roof responsible for ensuring world peace, security, and welfare,” Erdogan said.

“We must build a global governance architecture that is capable of representing all origins, beliefs and cultures in the world,” he added, according to Anadolu Agency.

During his speech, Erdogan once again reiterated his oft-repeated slogan for UN reform, “The world is bigger than five,” referring to the unrepresentative nature of the UN Security Council’s five permanent, veto-wielding members.

#Global South #United Nations

Global South leaders raised their voice at UN General Assembly

Reforms in multilateral institutions, both political and financial, must reflect the need of the changing world which is multipolar and against hegemonic practices, leaders from the Global South said at the UN General Assembly.

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