Statement by the Permanent Representative of Brazil to the United Nations, Ambassador Sérgio França Danese, on the occasion of the Celebration of the International Portuguese Language Day at the United Nations - May 14th, 2025

Permanent Representatives,
Dear colleagues,
Dearest friends joining us for this celebration,

I am honored to deliver these remarks at the request of Ambassador Samba Sané, Permanent Representative of Guinea-Bissau and the current rotating coordinator of the Community of Portuguese-Speaking Countries (CPLP) in this city. Unfortunately, he could not be with us today due to official commitments in his capital, and he thus entrusted me with the honorable task of speaking on behalf of our community.

On World Portuguese Language Day — a date established by the CPLP in 2009 and recognized by UNESCO in 2019 — we celebrate more than just a language. We celebrate a shared heritage of history, culture, cooperation, solidarity, and brotherhood.

Angola, Brazil, Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mozambique, Portugal, São Tomé and Príncipe, Timor-Leste, and Equatorial Guinea: we are nine countries united by a common language — which is also a deep marker of our identity and the foremost guarantee of a fraternal friendship among our nations.

As you know, Portuguese is the fifth most spoken language in the world and the most spoken in the Southern Hemisphere, with 290 million native speakers. It is a working language in international organizations such as the African Union and the Organization of American States, and we aspire for it to one day hold that status in this Organization as well.

Our cultural diversity is broad and vibrant: together, our countries have 42 tangible and 14 intangible heritage sites recognized by UNESCO, distinguished literary and academic production, and a strong digital presence with more than 170 million internet users. Music and literature in Portuguese — from Camões and Saramago to Clarice Lispector, Mia Couto, and Carolina de Jesus — continue to enchant the world.

The CPLP’s international engagement has also progressed. Since its founding in 1996, the Community has established itself as a space for diplomatic coordination and cooperation across multiple areas. Today, it includes 29 associated observer States.

Each year, in the complex landscape of international relations, especially at the United Nations, we have sought to consolidate our group as a platform for advancing our shared views on the broad agenda that engages us around the world and especially here in New York.

In 2024, we reached a milestone of 15 joint statements on behalf of the CPLP. These were delivered in the General Assembly plenary, in the Security Council, and — for the first time — in all six Main Committees of the General Assembly. We remain committed to strengthening the CPLP as a group with an active presence at the United Nations, always ready to raise its voice and make an extra effort in favor of peace, sustainable development, and human rights.

To celebrate this day at the UN, therefore, is to reaffirm the value of the Portuguese language as a tool for unity, dialogue, and active contribution to a more peaceful, diverse, and multilingual world — as envisioned by the Charter of the United Nations.

With this spirit, I thank you all for your presence and invite you to join us in celebrating this shared language and identity that make our community of Portuguese-speaking countries a brotherhood of sentiment and a force for peace and understanding among all nations of the world.

Thank you very much.