Speech by Minister Antonio de Aguiar Patriota on the occasion of the UN Security Council Debate on Preventive Diplomacy – New York, September 22nd, 2011

(Versão original em inglês)

Mr. President,

Distinguished Heads of State,

Distinguished Ministers, Ambassadors,

Let me start by expressing my satisfaction at seeing Your Excellency preside over the Security Council.

I would like to convey President Dilma Rousseff’s regret at being unable to attend today’s debate. She requested that I transmit to you, Mr. President, her respectful greetings and her congratulations for having chosen this important topic for our High Level Meeting.

The subject of this session allows us to call attention to the diplomatic instruments available for the promotion of peace, in a world where we often witness a tendency to hasten towards coercion, sanctions and military intervention.

Today’s debate helps us to underline the priority role that the pacific settlement of disputes must have in achieving the central goal of the United Nations, which is the promotion of international peace on the legal basis provided by the Charter.

Brazil has inscribed the principle of peaceful resolution of controversies into its Constitution. We believe that peace results from collective efforts in favor of building just societies. We have underscored the interdependence between peace, security, and development. We know from experience that stability and security are seldom achieved where there is social exclusion. I was particularly pleased to hear Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon’s comment yesterday, when he stated that “development is ultimately the best prevention”.

The promotion of socio-economic development and the creation of political opportunities to allow every country to fulfill its potential are indispensable elements in any agenda for preventive diplomacy, by extension in any agenda for peace.

In Brazil, we are committed to fighting poverty and improving governance. In our region, the Union of South American Nations - UNASUL - is consolidating itself as a zone of peace, cooperation, and democracy.

We know, however, that irrespective of how developed regional cooperation becomes, we will always need a functional and effective multilateral system. And it cannot be repeated too often that this Council has the primary responsibility for promoting international peace and security.

It behooves the Security Council to find solutions that can both resolve the challenges posed by specific situations of crisis and, at the same time, strengthen the multilateral system itself.

Recent episodes have shown us the limits of military action as a means for promoting stability, as well as the inappropriateness of using force preventively or preemptively. Yesterday, we took note of President Obama’s statement to the effect that “the tide of war is receding”. We might emphatically add that we must usher in a tide of diplomacy, dialogue and prevention.

Members of the Security Council,

Prevention of conflicts and prevention of the escalation of conflict can be strengthened through many different tools. Peacekeeping operations are valuable instruments. The Peacebuilding Commission can play an important role in staving off the recurrence of conflict. I agree with the Prime-Minister of Portugal when he speaks of the mutually reinforcing triad of prevention, peacekeeping and peacebuilding. But let us not forget that disarmament and the elimination of weapons of mass destruction will also greatly enhance our capacity to avoid conflict.
Meanwhile we would not disagree with those who associate poverty and conflict and tension. Let us not forget that historically it is the very powerful militarily that have wrought destruction on the widest scale.

As many have pointed out today, in order to fully discharge its role in the field of peace and security, the United Nations must support and promote women’s participation in national and international political processes. President Dilma Rousseff stressed our commitment to this goal in her speech to the General Assembly yesterday. Unfortunately however women are still underrepresented in the different stages and activities of the diplomatic agenda for peace.

Mr. President,

We live in a time marked by mass demonstrations in the Arab world, where a young generation demands effective participation in the political future of their countries and societies. From the beginning, Brazil has not only stood with those who call for freedom of expression and institutional progress, but has also steadfastly promoted peaceful means to address the tensions brought about by these processes. At the same time, we have called for respect for international law and underlined the need to fully respect the decisions of the Security Council, in particular when Chapter VII has been invoked.

Fulfilling our responsibility in the realm of prevention involves favoring mediation, the good offices of the Secretary-General and, at all times, giving priority to the full range of instruments to peacefully resolve differences, including giving due consideration to regional organizations and refraining from loose interpretations of Security Council mandates. I think the Council deserves to take careful note of the statement by President Zuma of South Africa when he mentioned the fact that the African Union was widely sidelined in recent situations that have been brought to the attention of the Council.

The wave of change that has swept the Middle East and Northern Africa lends an even greater sense of urgency to the legitimate aspirations of the Palestinian people for a State of their own. Defusing this enormous focus of tension and instability through a two-state solution and through due respect for Israel's right to live in peace and security can indeed and should be portrayed as a form of advancing the concept of preventive diplomacy. The exercise of preventive diplomacy requires that this Council participate effectively in defusing tensions of varying degrees of intensity. In other words, the Council will not be fulfilling its role if it avoids the potentially most destabilizing situations.

Let us not forget that Resolutions 242 and 338 were consensus decisions of this body and remain inescapable references for the future of peace in the Middle East. Brazil expresses its expectation that the Security Council will show greater leadership in helping to bring about, through dialogue and diplomacy, a just and lasting peace to the Middle East. And as President Sarkozy stated yesterday “il faut arrêter de croire qu'un seul pays, fut-il le plus grand, ou qu'un petit groupe de pays peuvent résoudre un problème d'une telle complexité. Trop d'acteurs majeurs sont laissés de côté pour pouvoir aboutir”.

Mr. President,

Updating the composition of the Security Council in order to better reflect the realities of the world today will greatly contribute to the strengthening of our preventive capacity.

Meanwhile, dialogue, persuasion, diplomacy and the peaceful resolution of conflicts will continue to be the guiding principles of my country’s conduct in this Council and this Organization, where our collective responsibility will require that additional and more sustained efforts be invested in prevention as a broad approach towards lasting peace.

Thank you very much.