Lula renews criticism of UN Security Council

Photo: Ricardo Stuckert/PR

President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva on Friday once again called for an end to veto power in the United Nations Security Council, where the U.S. delegation last week vetoed a draft resolution proposed by Brazil calling for “humanitarian pauses” to the conflict in Gaza.

“Brazil’s [resolution] was approved by 12 out of 15 votes … that’s why we want to end the right to veto. We think that the Americans, the Russians, the English (sic), the French, the Chinese, nobody has the right of veto”, Lula told reporters during a press conference at the presidential palace.

The draft proposed by Brazil, which presides over the Security Council in October, received 12 votes. Russia and the United Kingdom abstained, and the U.S. vetoed the text.

A new draft resolution on the Israel-Hamas conflict, proposed by the U.S., was vetoed by both China and Russia on Wednesday. Brazil abstained. A Russian draft was then also put to a vote, with both the U.S. and the United Kingdom vetoing it. This second draft would have failed anyway because it did not receive the minimum nine votes.

Lula added that the veto power is “madness” and “not democratic”.

Professor Paul Poast, who teaches international relations at the University of Chicago, has explained that the veto is essential to the UN, which functions like a “great power concert,” the ultimate goal of which is to prevent major powers from going to war.

Lula has defended the end of the veto before. Back in November 2022, as president-elect, he advocated an end to the “veto privilege” in a speech at the COP climate conference in Egypt.