On Tuesday, Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar chaired a meeting of the BRICS Foreign Ministers via videoconference. He was joined by his counterparts from Brazil, Russia, China, and South Africa—Carlos Alberto França, Sergey Lavrov, Wang Yi, Naledi Pandor, respectively. Among a wide range of topics, the diplomats discussed the social and economic impact of the pandemic, reforming international institutions, counterterrorism operations, waiving patents on COVID-19 vaccines, and crises across the globe.
Here are some of the major talking points from the meeting:
Joint Statements
Following the meeting, the countries released a joint statement on “strengthening and reforming the multilateral system.” In the document, they expressed their “shared values of peace, freedom and rule of law, respect for human rights and democracy as well as a more fair, just, inclusive, equitable and representative multipolar international system, based on international law and the UN Charter, in particular sovereign equality of all States, respect for their territorial integrity and mutual respect for interests and concerns of all.”
Furthermore, the statement said that in light of the “immeasurable political, economic, and social damage” wrought by the ongoing pandemic, it has become clear that multilateralism must not only extend to the realms of war and peace, but is also an “essential tool” in public health and sustainability. To this end, the five ministers agreed to work towards “strengthening and reforming the multilateral system to make it more resilient, efficient, effective, transparent, and representative.”
They underscored that this “commitment to multilateralism” must be guided by adherence to international law, with the Charter of the United Nations being used as a “cornerstone.” The leaders further talked about the importance of respecting “principles of non-intervention in the internal affairs of States,” of resolving disputes through “peaceful means,” and of the “inadmissibility of the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity of any State.”
The quintet also put its weight behind the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), saying that it is the only body that should be able to impose sanctions, but noted that the Council itself must be strengthened itself to increase its “effectiveness, responsiveness, and transparency.” To this end, they also acknowledged the importance of multilateral institutions as a whole, including the UN General Assembly, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank (WB), the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the World Health Organization (WHO), but noted that all of these institutions require ‘reinvigoration’ and ‘reform’.
Keeping this in mind, they recommended that these institutions be made “more inclusive, representative, and participatory,” so that developing and least developed countries, particularly in Africa, are more actively involved in “global decision-making processes and structures.” They further recommended that the organisations be more “responsive, effective, transparent, democratic, objective, action-oriented, solution-oriented, and credible” in a way that promotes “mutual respect, justice, equality, [and] mutually beneficial cooperation.” In addition, they noted that international organisations must be used to strengthen the push for “affordable and equitable access to global public goods for all.” Taking note of the changing times, they said that these organisations must also be used to respond to both traditional and new and emerging challenges, including terrorism, money laundering, cyberattacks, infodemics, and fake news.
China and Russia, both permanent members of the UNSC, “reiterated the importance they attach to the status and role of Brazil, India, And South Africa international affairs,” and thus called for them to play a “greater role” in the organisation. However, they stopped short of making any formal calls for them to be offered a permanent seat.
On the topic of international peace and security, the ministers emphasised the need to “strengthen the system of arms control, disarmament, and non-proliferation treaties and agreements.”
Moving on to international financial architecture and keeping with the theme of greater representation, they said the emerging markets and developing countries (EMDCs) must be involved in “international economic decision-making and norm-setting processes.”
Next, on trade and development, the ministers spoke of the importance of a “transparent, rules-based, open, inclusive, and non-discriminatory multilateral trading system” that places the WTO’s “core values and fundamental principles” at its centre. They also recognised that the WTO’s top court, the Appellate Body, must swiftly appoint the requisite number of judges to allow the organisation to serve its purpose as a trade dispute resolution body. Since December 2019, the US has obstructed the appointment of judges to the Appellate Body, with Trump saying that the WTO is biased towards China. Biden has yet to rectify this situation.
On global health, the ministers offered support to India and South Africa’s motion at the WTO to waive intellectual property rights on COVID-19 vaccines and related products.
The five countries also released a joint media statement that outlined their interest in ‘operationalising’ the BRICS Vaccine Research and Development Centre and the BRICS Integrated Early Warning System for Preventing Mass Infectious Diseases, as well as holding the BRICS Symposium on Vaccine Cooperation.
Furthermore, they reaffirmed their commitment to implementing the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Climate Accords using the guiding principles of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). They acknowledged, however, that reducing greenhouse gas emissions will “take longer in developing countries,” who have yet to reach peak emissions, as they are still focusing on “eradicating poverty.”
Looking to the future, they also outlined the importance of avoiding an arms race in outer space, and thus highlighted Russia and China’s joint proposal titled the “Treaty on the Prevention of the Placement of Weapons in Outer Space, the Threat or Use of Force against Outer Space Objects.” The leaders also stressed on the need to tackle conventional weapons as well, and thus recognised the importance of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction (BTWC), the Convention, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), and the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
The states also expressed their “deep concern” about instability across the Middle East and North Africa. While they welcomed the ceasefire in Gaza, they called on the international community to focus on providing humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian civilian population and working towards a two-state solution. They also reiterated their “strong commitment to the sovereignty, independence, unity and territorial integrity” of Syria and noted that “there can be no military solution to the Syrian conflict.” The leaders thus put their weight behind a “Syrian-led and Syrian-owned, UN-facilitated political process.” Next, they spoke of the humanitarian crisis in Yemen and called for a “complete cessation of hostilities and the establishment of an inclusive, Yemeni-led negotiation process mediated by the UN.” Furthermore, they remarked that the Iran nuclear issue must be resolved through “peaceful and diplomatic means” and that Tehran must allow the IAEA to continue “necessary verification and monitoring activities.”
Similarly, they said that international actors must work to ensure a “stable, democratic, inclusive, independent, prosperous, sovereign, [and] peaceful” Afghanistan. The ministers said that the peace process must be “Afghan-led and Afghan-owned” but that the UN must play a central role in peace-making and peacebuilding. They further called for an “immediate, permanent, and comprehensive ceasefire” and condemned the “targeting of civilians by terrorist groups,” in what could be interpreted as a swipe at the Taliban.
In Asia, they said that Korean Peninsula can only see peace when there is complete denuclearisation. However, the ministers took a more reserved stance on Myanmar, instead reaffirming the country’s “sovereignty, political independence, and territorial integrity,” and merely vaguely calling for a cessation of violence from “all sides.”
Brazil
Brazilian Minister of Foreign Affairs Carlos Alberto França said, “During the COVID-19 pandemic, BRICS demonstrated its durability and continued its operation in 2020 and 2021 in the spirit of efficient and brotherly cooperation between friends.” He added, “BRICS is the backbone of Brazil’s foreign policy, which has traditionally advocated the promotion of global peace and development.” He further declared: “We must begin serious talks on global governance and increase the role of developing countries.”
Russia
Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov began his speech by expressing Russia’s “solidarity” with India amid its ongoing battle with the coronavirus, which continues to claim thousands of lives every day.
The Russian minister then took aim at the West, saying that the pandemic has “strengthened negative trends in international relations,” and said that some countries have not respected international law or the UN Charter. He said that they had instead made their own rules and engaged in “national egoism, unscrupulousness in the choice of means to win global dominance, ignoring the interests of other countries undermine the foundation of the post-World War II multilateral system, which rests on international law.”
Lavrov said that the threats of “terrorism, transnational crime, […] climate change” and income inequality can “only be addressed collectively.” To this end, he called for “multilateral, inclusive, universal, and non-discriminatory cooperation.” Therefore, Russia put its weight behind the BRICS nations’ push for a reform of the multilateral system.
Following the meeting, at a press conference, Lavrov played down tensions between members, saying, “There is no dispute among BRICS members. All BRICS member states stressed the need to strengthen the multilateral system, not in a narrow format, but exclusively in the universal format based on the UN Charter.”
India
Indian External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar opened the meeting by saying: “We strive for a fair, just, inclusive, equitable and representative multi-polar international system. It is one based on international law and the UN Charter, that recognizes the sovereign equality of all states and respects their territorial integrity while displaying mutual respect for interests and concerns of all.” This has been interpreted as a thinly veiled insult of China, with whom India has been embroiled in a border dispute that resulted in multiple deaths on both sides last year.
He then outlined the four pillars of India’s vision for multilateralism: “reform of the multilateral system, counterterrorism cooperation, using digital and technological solutions to achieve SDGs, and enhancing people-to-people cooperation.”
China
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said that China will continue to support India in its fight against COVID-19. Prior to the meeting, foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said that China would use the meeting to “send out a strong signal that BRICS countries, with solidarity and cooperation, support true multilateralism, promote post epidemic economic recovery and tackle global challenges.”
South Africa
South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor stressed the importance of India and South Africa’s proposal to the WTO for a temporary waiver on “certain aspects of TRIPS to facilitate wider aspects of technology needed to produce vaccines and treatment and diagnosis.” Like South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has done on several occasions, Pandor lamented vaccine hoarding by richer countries, saying, “We have a global dilemma. Millions of people in wealthier nations have been vaccinated while millions of people in poorer countries still ait and [are] vulnerable to infection, disease, and death.” She thus declared, “We must address this global gap of vaccine access.”