Brasília, October 24, 2003 (Agência Brasil - ABr) - Brazil was elected for the ninth time to occupy one of the ten rotating seats on the UN Security Council. It takes office on January 1, 2004, together with four other countries: Algeria, the Philippines, Benin, and Romania. According to the Brazilian ambassador to the UN, Ronaldo Sardemberg, this will offer Brazil a concrete opportunity to fight to strengthen multilateralism.
He affirmed that Brazil will continue to follow President Lula's fundamental policy directions. "We shall deepen them to favor participation by many countries in decisions that refer to international law, so that we can obtain results that are consensual and have legitimacy," he affirms.
The Security Council has fifteen members. Five are permanent - the United States, China, France, Great Britain, and Russia - with veto rights. The other ten are elected by the UN General Assembly to carry out temporary two-year mandates. Five countries are replaced every year.
According to UN rules, the rotating seats are filled by the following formula: two for the Latin American and Caribbean Group, three for the African Group, two for the West European Group, two for the Asian Group, and one for the East European Group. The members should, above all, contribute to the maintenance of international peace and security.
Brazil, the only Latin American candidate, received the support of the UN Group of Latin American and Caribbean Countries (Grulac). The result of the vote, announced today, has been known for months, since none of the five elected countries faced competition.
PERMANENT MEMBER
Brazil, which is being praised for its international policy, claims a seat as a permanent member of the Council. Some countries, such as Germany, Japan, Russia, and England, back Brazil's membership. They say that reform of the permanent Council is necessary, since it does not reflect the current state of the world. No developing country is part of this select group.
"A good number of countries have expressed support for Brazil's entry as a permanent member. Three permanent members have already approved, so we feel that, today, there is indeed a way in the sense of reforming the United Nations and reforming and expanding the Security Council," the ambassador commented. (DAS)
