Discurso do Representante Permanente, Embaixador Sérgio França Danese, durante o debate aberto no Conselho de Segurança (UNSC) sobre “Pobreza, Subdesenvolvimento e Conflito: Implicações para a Manutenção da Paz e da Segurança Internacionais” - 19 de junho de 2025 (texto em inglês)

Mr. President,

I thank Guyana for organizing this timely debate and the briefers for their insightful remarks.

The topic of today's discussion is not a new concern for the Security Council.

Back in 2011, during a Brazilian Presidency, we hosted a signature event on the interdependence between security and development. On the same month, this Council approved a Presidential Statement, recognizing that security and development are deeply interconnected and mutually reinforcing, while also acknowledging the complex, context-specific nature of their relationship.

We see with satisfaction that Guyana is carrying this torch forward. Nevertheless, it is a cause for great concern how little this topic has evolved over time. The Council's actual approach to these kinds of challenges has been sluggish at best, negligent at worst.

Mr. President,

We are falling behind in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, as only 17% of the targets are expected to be achieved in a timely manner.

This shortcoming is in no small part due to the politicization of the 2030 Agenda.

To make things worse, resources are being systematically drained from development areas to be heavily allocated in defense expenditures. This reflects the prevailing shortsightedness on how sustainable security worldwide can be effectively achieved.

Let us be clear: purely military or security strategies will not be able to deal with any of today's situations of conflict.

There is a role to be played by the Council in conflict prevention, which cannot be fully delivered without an understanding of the root causes of armed conflict. The Council should therefore work in synergy with the Peacebuilding Commission, which has significant experience on preventive approaches and sustaining peace.

The PBC can bring to the Council a comprehensive perspective that connects sustainable development and peace and security, based on concrete experiences. This perspective can assist in striking real balance between the three main pillars of the UN.

We should not undermine the commitments we have negotiated and consensually agreed on. Attempts to relativize the Pact for the Future are particularly concerning and must be avoided.

The first actions in the Pact are related to sustainable development and financing for development, including the eradication of poverty and the elimination of food insecurity and all forms of malnutrition. This was not a random choice. This option derives from the inevitable acknowledgement that development feeds into for peace. It was founded on the perception that there can be no sustainable development without peace and no peace without sustainable development.

In order to address food crises, particularly in conflict situations, we must take into consideration the possible contribution of the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, launched during Brazil's presidency of the G20. The alliance can help address crises through its policy instruments, including shock-responsive social protection measures such as emergency cash transfers. These transfers can provide rapid income support to populations affected by conflicts, displacement and acute food insecurity. The Alliance is a result-oriented tool that fosters international coordination and resource mobilization when national capacities are overwhelmed, while supporting long-term efforts to strengthen inclusive and resilient food systems.

Mr. President,

As we celebrate 80 years of the United Nations, we have to remind ourselves that the idea of interdependence between development and security was already incorporated in article 55 of the Charter. We must recommit to the Charter's purposes and principles and reflect on how to improve the organization's ability to achieve its foundational objectives.

Thank you.