Brazil Vows U.N. Reform at G-20 Meeting

Jiji Press

12:44 JST, February 22, 2024

Rio de Janeiro (Jiji Press)—Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira expressed his commitment to the reform of global institutions including the United Nations at the outset of a meeting of the Group of 20 foreign ministers Wednesday.

The U.N. Security Council has fallen into “unacceptable paralysis” over Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the deepening crisis in the Middle East, Vieira said, adding that the state of inaction directly leads to “further loss of innocent lives.”

The G-20 meeting in Rio de Janeiro, hosted by Brazil, brought together emerging and advanced nations including the five permanent members of the Security Council, as well as Japan, Brazil, Germany and India, which form a group seeking to realize Security Council reform.

Brazil aims to achieve an agreement on the reform of global institutions including the United Nations at the G-20 summit slated for November.

It is unclear, however, whether G-20 members will be able to have full-fledged discussions on the reform as differences in their views on the global situation became more apparent.

Russia is at odds with the United States and Europe over its invasion of Ukraine. The United States, for its part, is isolated as it vetoed Security Council resolutions seeking an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

On the first day of the G-20 ministerial meeting, Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa said Tokyo is considering extending $32 million in emergency grant aid to provide humanitarian support for Palestinians.

Kamikawa also said that Japan and Ukraine signed 56 sets of documents on cooperation at their meeting in Tokyo this week to promote the reconstruction of the war-torn country.