RIO DE JANEIRO – Brazil opened a conference of foreign ministers from the G-20 group of nations on Feb 21 by blaming the United Nations and other multinational bodies for failing to stop mounting wars and conflicts that are killing innocent people.

Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira called for “profound reform” of global governance as Brazil’s top priority for its presidency in 2024 of the group of the world’s largest economies.

“Multilateral institutions are not adequately equipped to deal with current challenges, as demonstrated by the Security Council’s unacceptable paralysis in relation to ongoing conflicts,” he said at the opening of a two-day meeting to prepare the agenda for the Group of 20 annual summit in November.

“This state of inaction results in the loss of innocent lives.”

Ministers from the G-20 nations, including the United States and Russia, began a free discussion of current world tensions and ways to improve multilateral organisations – a priority set by Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, along with curbing climate change and reducing poverty.

But with continued fighting between Russia and Ukraine and Israel’s invasion of Gaza, diplomats are not optimistic that proposals to upgrade global governance will advance easily within the G-20.

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Mr Lula in Brasilia on his way to the Rio meeting and expressed US support for Brazil’s agenda to make global governance more effective, US State Department spokesman Matthew Miller told reporters.

Mr Blinken, the top US diplomat, discussed Israel’s war in Gaza with Mr Lula, amid a diplomatic spat after the Brazilian leader likened Israel’s war to the Nazi genocide during World War II.

Mr Lula has criticised the UN for failing to resolve the conflict between Israel and the Palestinians, and his accusations last week of atrocities by Israel in Gaza triggered a diplomatic crisis with an Israeli reprimand and Brazil recalling its ambassador.

Brazil does not accept a world in which differences are resolved through the use of military force, Mr Vieira said.

“A very significant portion of the world has made a choice for peace and does not accept being involved in conflicts driven by other nations.” he said.

Brazil’s quest for wider representation in an expanded UN Security Council reflecting a changing world was backed by Japanese Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa, despite the difficulty in obtaining consensus.

“The Security Council needs to adapt to the geopolitical shift and become more efficient in a changing world... The global community is facing multiple crises,” she told the meeting, according to her press spokesperson.

Brazil’s G-20 sherpa, diplomat Mauricio Lyrio, said on Feb 20 that the lack of effective global governance to deal with the world’s challenges has led to an unprecedented proliferation of conflicts.

Mr Lyrio said there was growing consensus on the need to overhaul the UN, where Brazil has advocated the expansion of the Security Council, a proposal that has not advanced due to the resistance of nations with veto power.

“This meeting will essentially be a venting session to build the case for multilateral reform and diagnosing the problem,” a European diplomat told Reuters.

Mr Blinken and Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov faced each other across the table for the first time since they spoke briefly face to face at a 2023 foreign ministers’ meeting in New Delhi. No meeting was planned between the two men.

As an innovation, Brazil will propose holding a second G-20 foreign ministers’ meeting in September during the UN General Assembly in New York to advance talks on global governance, Mr Lyrio said, with all UN member states invited to take part.

The G-20 represents around 85 per cent of the global GDP, over 75 per cent of global trade, and about two-thirds of the world population. REUTERS