Brazil is one step away from embarrassment at the UN | Brazil

A budget supplement of R $ 2.8 billion to meet financial commitments with 30 international organizations was included in PLN 29, a bill that needs to be approved in a joint session of the National Congress. Given the lack of political articulation, the vote scheduled for yesterday ended without an agreement. Parties such as Novo, Cidadania and PT differed from other points in the text and blocked their appreciation. The government leader in Congress, Senator Eduardo Gomes (MDB-TO), did not even appear in plenary session.

In theory, it was the last session of Congress in 2020. However, the news that the 29 PLN had not been voted generated an avalanche in Itamaraty, which sought to sensitize parliamentarians about the need for an extra session this Thursday. With the final approval of the Law of Budgetary Guidelines (LDO), the climate is one of demobilization in the Legislative and many congressmen have already begun to return to their states.

Still, Senate President Davi Alcolumbre (DEM-AP) called a session at 9 am today in a final voting effort.

Several countries, including the United States, are beaten. But when non-payment exceeds the total amount of contributions owed in the previous two years, Article 19 of the Charter of Nations provides for the loss of the right to vote as an automatic and immediate sanction. This occurs not only in the General Assembly, the highest decision-making body, but also in the UN councils of which the debtor is a member. In the case of Brazil, it reaches its participation in the Economic and Social Council, which discusses issues such as sustainable development, energy and innovation.

Currently, only three countries are in this accumulated debt situation: Somalia, Comoros, and São Tomé and Príncipe. However, they claimed to be going through a serious economic crisis and obtained a “dispensation” (pardon) from the international community. As a result, they fully preserved their rights.

Venezuela went ten months without voting, for lack of payment, claiming that the sanctions applied to the Nicolás Maduro regime prevented it from using the banking system and directing resources to the UN. At the end of October, Caracas ended up regularizing its situation and regained the vote.

In the case of Brazil, in addition to exposing an actor who claims to be a protagonist in global debates, the shame is even greater because the country intends to start its campaign for the return to the UN Security Council in the 2022 biennium. 2023. The election of non-permanent members takes place at the end of 2021.

With the image scratched abroad and increasingly under pressure in the environmental area, Brazil was preparing to propose an exchange of votes with various governments, not only in the General Assembly, but in specific deliberations of the other collegiate bodies.

Without the ability to vote, the Brazilian government is prevented, in practice, from exercising this type of negotiation. Brazil is the only candidate in Latin America, but it needs at least 129 votes (two-thirds of the members) to be elected.

In a letter addressed to the Chamber’s Secretariat for International Relations, obtained by the ValueForeign Minister Ernesto Araújo warned about the “automatic, mandatory and immediate application” of the sanction at the UN as of January 1.

“In addition to the legally foreseen consequences, there are also political consequences, since the delay in payment to international organizations tends to reduce the country’s capacity to act in these forums, making it difficult to achieve foreign policy interests,” Araújo said in the missive. , in response to a request from the secretary, deputy Alex Manente (Cidadania-SP).

In addition to the UN, the bill in process provided additional credit for the payment of debts with the World Trade Organization (WTO), UNESCO, the Permanent Secretariat of Mercosur and the International Criminal Court (ICC), among others.