New York, MINA – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva called for organizational reform of the United Nations (UN) body, saying the organization is not fulfilling its role in representing the world and stopping wars.
President Lula made the call in his opening address to the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, USA, on Tuesday (Sept 24), which will run until the end of September.
He criticized the spending of tens of billions of dollars annually on military weapons, saying, “this money should be used to alleviate poverty and address climate change”. Al-Quds Al-Araby reported.
“Eliminating hunger again is the most urgent commitment of my government,” said Lula, who was elected three times to lead Brazil.
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He called for a review of the UN Charter to revive the General Assembly’s role in promoting peace and reforming multilateral institutions.
“The exclusion of South America and Africa from permanent seats on the UN Security Council is an unacceptable reflection of the colonial past,” he said.
Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva also gave special appreciation to the Palestinian delegation and President Mahmoud Abbas, who was greeted by a standing ovation.
In his speech, the Brazilian President also warned of the danger of the war in the Gaza Strip spilling over into Lebanon, and called for a ceasefire.
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“The right to self-defense has turned into the right to revenge, which hinders reaching an agreement to release hostages and obstructs a ceasefire,” Lula said. (T/RE1/P2)
Mi’raj News Agency (MINA)
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