The leaders of five of the world’s major emerging powers called Thursday for UN Security Council reform to give developing nations more of a say on global issues.
Chinese President Hu Jintao (胡錦濤) and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev joined fellow BRICS nations India, Brazil and South Africa in the southern Chinese resort of Sanya for an annual summit aimed at raising the bloc’s profile.
The latter three countries are currently rotating members of the Security Council but are seeking more permanent representation — either as individual countries or for their regions — to match their growing world influence. Russia and China are permanent council members.
“The reform of the United Nations and its Security Council is essential. It is just impossible ... that we should still remain attached to institutional arrangements that were built in the post-war period,” Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff told reporters.
Besides Hu, Medvedev and Rousseff, the wide-ranging morning talks were attended by South African President Jacob Zuma and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.
AGREEMENT
During a joint media appearance after their talks, Zuma said: “We agreed on the need for reform of the United Nations Security Council system to make it more representative and effective.”
China and Russia lent their support to those calls in a joint statement issued by the five nations — which together represent more than 40 percent of the world’s population.
“China and Russia reiterate the importance they attach to the status of India, Brazil and South Africa in international affairs, and understand and support their aspiration to play a greater role in the UN,” it said.
India and Brazil would like their own permanent seats on the council — moves backed by Russia but not yet endorsed by China.
Brazil, Germany, India and Japan, the so-called Group of Four (G4), renewed their long standing campaign to get permanent council seats last year.
African nations believe they should have up to two permanent seats on the council, while Arab and Latin American nations are also demanding stronger representation.
LIBYA
The BRICS summit statement, issued after the talks, also said the use of force in Libya and the Arab world should be avoided.
“We are of the view that all the parties should resolve their differences through peaceful means and dialogue in which the UN and regional organizations should as appropriate play their role,” the statement said.
“We share the principle that the use of force should be avoided. We maintain that the independence, sovereignty, unity and territorial integrity of each nation should be respected,” the statement said.
South Africa was the only BRICS nation to approve a UN Security Council resolution establishing a no-fly zone over Libya and authorizing “all necessary measures” to protect civilians, opening the door to coalition air strikes.
The other four countries have expressed concern that the NATO-led campaign is causing civilian casualties.
‘IN A DIFFERENT PLACE’: The envoy first visited Shanghai, where he attended a Chinese basketball playoff match, and is to meet top officials in Beijing tomorrow US Secretary of State Antony Blinken yesterday arrived in China on his second visit in a year as the US ramps up pressure on its rival over its support for Russia while also seeking to manage tensions with Beijing. The US diplomat tomorrow is to meet China’s top brass in Beijing, where he is also expected to plead for restraint as Taiwan inaugurates president-elect William Lai (賴清德), and to raise US concerns on Chinese trade practices. However, Blinken is also seeking to stabilize ties, with tensions between the world’s two largest economies easing since his previous visit in June last year. At the
Nearly half of China’s major cities are suffering “moderate to severe” levels of subsidence, putting millions of people at risk of flooding, especially as sea levels rise, according to a study of nationwide satellite data released yesterday. The authors of the paper, published by the journal Science, found that 45 percent of China’s urban land was sinking faster than 3mm per year, with 16 percent at more than 10mm per year, driven not only by declining water tables, but also the sheer weight of the built environment. With China’s urban population already in excess of 900 million people, “even a small portion
UNSETTLING IMAGES: The scene took place in front of TV crews covering the Trump trial, with a CNN anchor calling it an ‘emotional and unbelievably disturbing moment’ A man who doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire outside the courthouse where former US president Donald Trump is on trial has died, police said yesterday. The New York City Police Department (NYPD) said the man was declared dead by staff at an area hospital. The man was in Collect Pond Park at about 1:30pm on Friday when he took out pamphlets espousing conspiracy theories, tossed them around, then doused himself in an accelerant and set himself on fire, officials and witnesses said. A large number of police officers were nearby when it happened. Some officers and bystanders rushed
Beijing is continuing to commit genocide and crimes against humanity against Uyghurs and other Muslim minorities in its western Xinjiang province, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a report published on Monday, ahead of his planned visit to China this week. The State Department’s annual human rights report, which documents abuses recorded all over the world during the previous calendar year, repeated language from previous years on the treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, but the publication raises the issue ahead of delicate talks, including on the war in Ukraine and global trade, between the top U.S. diplomat and Chinese