President Lula’s speech at the Opening of the General Debate of the 80th UN General Assembly

Madam President of the General Assembly, Annalena Baerbock,

Mr. Secretary-General António Guterres,

Dear Heads of State and Government and representatives of the Member States gathered here.

This should be a time to celebrate the United Nations.

Created at the end of the War, the UN symbolizes the highest expression of the aspiration for peace and prosperity.

Today, however, the ideals that inspired its founders in San Francisco are under threat, as never before in the their history .

Multilateralism is at a new crossroads.

This Organization's authority is in check.

We are witnessing the consolidation of an international order marked by repeated concessions to power politics.

Attacks on sovereignty, arbitrary sanctions, and unilateral interventions are becoming the rule.

There is a clear parallel between the multilateralism crisis and the weakening of democracy.

Authoritarianism is strengthened when we fail to act in the face of arbitrary acts.

When international society falters in defending peace, sovereignty and the rule of law, the consequences are tragic.

Throughout the world, anti-democratic forces are trying to subjugate institutions and stifle freedoms.

They worship violence, praise ignorance, act as physical and digital militias, and restrict the press, .

Even under an unprecedented attack, Brazil chose to resist and defend its democracy, regained forty years ago by its people, after two decades of dictatorial governments.

There is no justification for unilateral and arbitrary measures against our institutions and our economy. 

The aggression against the independence of the Judiciary branch of power is unacceptable.

This interference in domestic affairs is aided by a subservient far right, who is nostalgic for past hegemonies.

False patriots plan and publicly promote actions against Brazil.

Peace cannot be achieved with impunity.

A few days ago, and for the first time in 525 years of our history, a former head of state was convicted of attacking the democratic rule of law.

He was investigated, indicted, tried and held accountable for his actions in a meticulous process.

His right to defend himself was secured, a prerogative that dictatorships deny to their victims.

Before the eyes of the world, Brazil sent a message to all aspiring autocrats and those who support them: our democracy and our sovereignty are non-negotiable.

We will continue as an independent nation and as a people free from any type of guardianship.

Sound democracies go beyond the electoral ritual.

Its strength presupposes the reduction of inequalities and the guarantee of the most basic rights: food, safety, work, housing, education and health.

Democracy fails when women earn less than men or die at the hands of partners and family members.

It loses when it closes its doors and blames migrants for the world's ills.

Poverty is as much an enemy of democracy as extremism.

Therefore, we were proud to receive confirmation from FAO that Brazil has once again left the Hunger Map in 2025. 

But in the world, there are still 670 million hungry people . About 2.3 billion face food insecurity.

The only war of which everyone can emerge victorious is the one we wage against hunger and poverty.

This is the goal of the Global Alliance we launched at the G20, and which has the support of 103 countries.

The international community needs to revise its priorities: 

- Reduce arms spending and increase development aid;

- Relieve the service of the foreign debt of the poorest countries, above all, African nations; and

- Set minimum global tax standards so that the super-rich pay more taxes than workers.

Democracy is also measured by the ability to protect families and childhood.

Digital platforms offer possibilities for us to come together in ways we never imagined. 

But they have been used for sowing intolerance, misogyny, xenophobia and misinformation.

The internet cannot be a “land of lawlessness”. It is up to governments to protect the most vulnerable.

Regulating does not mean restricting freedom of expression. It's about ensuring that what is already illegal in the real world is treated that way in the virtual environment.

Attacks on regulation serve to cover up hidden interests and provide shelter for crimes, such as fraud, human trafficking, pedophilia and attacks against the democracy.

The Brazilian Parliament was right to rush to address this issue.

Last week, I proudly enacted one of the world's most advanced laws for the protection of children and adolescents in the digital environment.

Also, we sent draft bills to the National Congress to foster competition in digital markets and to encourage the installation of sustainable data centres.

To mitigate the risks of artificial intelligence, we are committed to building multilateral governance in line with the Global Digital Compact approved in this plenary last year. 

Ladies and Gentlemen,

In Latin America and the Caribbean, we are experiencing a time of growing polarization and instability.

Maintaining the region as a zone of peace is our priority.

We are a continent free of weapons of mass destruction, without ethnic or religious conflicts.

The comparison between crime and terrorism is worrying.

The most effective way to combat drug trafficking is to cooperate to suppress money laundering and limit arms trade.

Using lethal force in situations that do not constitute armed conflict is tantamount to executing people without trial.

Other parts of the planet have already witnessed interventions that caused greater damage than intended, with serious humanitarian consequences. 

The path to dialogue must not be closed in Venezuela.

Haiti has the right to a violence free future.

And it is unacceptable that Cuba be listed as a country that sponsors terrorism.

In the conflict in Ukraine, we all already know that there will be no military solution. 

The recent meeting in Alaska raised hopes of a negotiated way out.

It is necessary to pave the way for a realistic solution.

This involves taking into account the legitimate security concerns of all parties.

The African Initiative and the Friends for Peace Group, created by China and Brazil, can help promote dialogue and a diplomatic solution.

No situation is more emblematic of the disproportionate and illegal use of force than the one occurring in Palestine.

The terrorist attacks perpetrated by Hamas are indefensible from any angle.

But nothing, absolutely nothing, justifies the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

There, under tons of rubble, are buried tens of thousands of innocent women and children.

International Humanitarian Law and the myth of the ethical exceptionalism of the West are also buried there.

This massacre would not have happened without the complicity of those who could have prevented it.

In Gaza, hunger is used as a weapon of war and the forced displacement of populations goes on unpunished.

I express my admiration to the Jews who, inside and outside Israel, oppose this collective punishment.

The Palestinian people are at risk of disappearing.

They will only survive with an independent State, integrated to the international community.

This is the solution defended by more than 150 UN members, reaffirmed yesterday, here in this very plenary, but barred by a single veto. 

It is regrettable that President Mahmoud Abbas was prevented by the host country of occupying the Palestinian bench at this historic moment. 

The spread of this conflict to Lebanon, Syria, Iran and Qatar is fuelling an unprecedented arms build-up.

Madam President,

Bombs and nuclear weapons will not protect us from of the climate crisis.

The year of 2024 was the warmest already registered.

COP30, in Belém, will be the COP of truth.

It will be the time for world leaders to prove the seriousness of their commitment to the planet.

Without a complete picture of the Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), we are walking blindfolded towards the abyss.

Brazil has committed to reducing its emissions by between 59 and 67%, covering all greenhouse gases and all sectors of the economy.

Developing nations face climate change while grappling with other challenges.

Meanwhile, rich countries enjoy a standard of living reached at the expense of two hundred years of greenhouse gas emissions.

Demanding greater ambition and greater access to resources and technologies is not a matter of charity, but of justice.

The race for critical minerals, essential for energy transition, cannot reproduce the predatory and asymmetrical logic that has characterized recent centuries.

In Belém, the world will learn about the reality of the Amazon.

Brazil has already reduced deforestation by half in the region in the last two years.

Eradicating it requires ensuring decent living conditions for its millions of inhabitants.

Promoting sustainable development is the objective of the Tropical Forest Forever Facility, which Brazil intends to launch to compensate countries that keep their forests standing.  

But the time has come to move from the negotiation phase to the implementation stage.

The world owes a lot to the regime created by the Climate Convention.

Climate change needs to be brought to the heart of the UN so that it gets the attention it deserves.

A Council linked to the General Assembly with the power and legitimacy to monitor commitments and provide coherence to climate action.

This is a fundamental step towards a broader reform of the Organization, which would also include an expanded Security Council in the two member categories.

Few areas have worsened as much as the multilateral trading system.

Unilateral measures have rendered fundamental principles such as the Most Favoured Nation clauses meaningless.

They have disrupted value chains and threw the global economy into a pernicious spiral of high prices and stagnation.

It is urgent to re-found the WTO based on modern and flexible foundations.

Ladies and Gentlemen,

This year, the world lost two exceptional public figures: former Uruguayan President Pepe Mujica and Pope Francis.

Both embodied the best humanist values like no other.

Their lives were intertwined with the eight decades of the UN's existence.

If they were still among us, they would use this platform to remember:

- That authoritarianism, environmental degradation and inequality are not relentless.

- That the only ones defeated are those who stand idly by, resigned;

- That we can defeat the false prophets and oligarchs who exploit fear and monetize hate; and

- That tomorrow is made of daily choices and it takes courage to act to transform it.

In the future that Brazil envisions, there is no room for the re-enactment of ideological rivalries or spheres of influence.

Confrontation is not inevitable.

We need leaders with clear visions, who understand that the international order is not a “zero-sum game”.

The 21st century will be increasingly multipolar . For it to remain peaceful, it cannot fail to be multilateral.

Brazis is giving increasing importance to the European Union, the African Union, ASEAN, CELAC, BRICS and the G20.

The voice of the Global South must be heard.

The UN has today almost four times more members than the 51 who were at its foundation.

Our historic mission is to make it once again a bearer of hope and a promoter of equality, peace, sustainable development, diversity and tolerance.

May God bless us all.

Thank you.