During the UN General Assembly, Brazil and China have invited for a peace meeting
United Nations in New York on 27 September 2024. (picture ma)
km. Two events stand out from this year’s United Nations General Assembly in the last week of September 2024. On 22 September, the General Assembly adopted a comprehensive “Pact for the Future”, which formulates 56 goals “to address current and future global challenges”. Although the pact is formally non-binding, it does in fact have a precedent-setting effect for the member states and thus encroaches on the sovereignty of these states - in favour of global governance. The “Pact for the Future”, which was negotiated under the leadership of Germany and Namibia, was adopted with 143 (out of 193) votes in favour. It needs to be analysed in more detail, taking into account also critical voices.
A second important event was the founding meeting of the “Friends of peace” group on the Ukraine crisis on 27 September at the invitation of China and Brazil. Representatives from around 20 countries took part in this meeting, including the three European countries Hungary, France and Switzerland.
The work of the “Friends of Peace” is based on a Chinese-Brazilian six-point plan of 23 May 2024 (see box), which builds on previous Chinese initiatives. We also document a report from the website of the government of the People’s Republic of China exhibiting the efforts of China and other countries to achieve peace in Ukraine.
Volodimir Zelensky from Ukraine, who also attended the General Assembly, promoting his “Victory Plan”, criticised the efforts of China and Brazil. Outgoing NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg also expressed his disapproval.1 Russian President Vladimir Putin, on the other hand, was reported2 to have spoken favourably of the six-point plan in the run-up to the founding meeting in New York.
The participation of France and Switzerland in the founding meeting is interesting. The Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (EDA) has even stated that Switzerland now supports the six-point plan after initially rejecting it.3 So far, both countries have fully supported the NATO and EU line.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov’s reaction to the news of both countries’ participation in the founding meeting is therefore understandable: “The only thing I don’t understand is how the French and the Swiss came to the meeting. The Swiss can no longer be described as neutral […]. The French are members of NATO, are eagerly in favour of Ukraine, demanding victory over the Russian Federation and supplying long-range weapons”.4
What the real intentions of countries like France and Switzerland are remains unclear at this point. What is certain, however, is that “the humanity of humanity” has an outstanding interest in ending the war. Without lazy compromises!•
1 https://www.turkiyetoday.com/world/stoltenberg-urges-turkiye-other-nato-states-to-back-ukraines-peace-plan-not-chinas-59857/ of 1 October 2024
2 https://www.merkur.de/politik/verhandlungen-gespraeche-china-kiew-friedensplan-ukraine-krieg-putin-russland-frieden-zr-93300320.html of 16 September 2024
3 https://www.berliner-zeitung.de/news/ukrainekrieg-schweiz-unterstuetzt-chinesisch-brasilianischen-friedensplan-kiew-enttaeuscht-li.2258413 of 29 September 2024
4 cited from https://eadaily.com/en/news/2024/09/28/lavrov-did-not-understand-france-and-switzerland-asked-for-a-meeting-of-friends-of-the-world-in-ukraine of 28 September 2024
Group ‘Friends of Peace’ on the Ukraine crisis established at the United Nations
On 27 September 2024 local time, a ministerial meeting of the “Friends of Peace” group on the Ukraine crisis was held at the UN headquarters in New York. The meeting was co-chaired by Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Foreign Minister Wang Yi as well as Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira and Chief Advisor of the Presidency of Brazil Celso Luiz Nunes Amorim. Representatives from 17 Global South countries were present, including Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty, Indonesian Foreign Minister Retno Marsudi, South African Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Ronald Ozzy Lamola, Mexican Foreign Minister Alicia Bárcena, and Zambian Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation Mulambo Haimbe.
Wang Yi said, “We gather here with a single purpose: to seek peace.” The Ukraine crisis has entered its third year. The fighting is still raging, the risks of spill over are rising, the dawn of peace has yet to emerge, and the developments in the situation are concerning. The original intention of this meeting is to unite more forces and amplify stronger voices to contribute Global South countries’ efforts to promoting a ceasefire and achieving lasting peace.
Wang Yi pointed out that on the Ukraine issue, China has all long held an objective and impartial position, promoted peace talks and stood on the side of peace. President Xi Jinping has put forward the principled position of “four points about what must be done”, which serve as the fundamental guidelines for China’s approach to the Ukraine issue. Based on this, China has issued the document titled “China’s Position on the Political Settlement of the Ukraine Crisis” and has sent a special envoy to engage in shuttle diplomacy. China has also jointly issued the “six common understandings” with Brazil. China’s proposals and mediation efforts have received widespread response from the international community, particularly from Global South countries. Wang Yi emphasised that in the choice between peace and war, the world must resolutely choose peace. “The more critical the situation and the more serious the crisis, the more we cannot give up hope for peace, and the more we cannot slacken our efforts for peace.” The conflict in Ukraine has already lasted long enough. Noting that the pressing task is to de-escalate the situation, Wang Yi said China is ready to work with Brazil to once again call for observing “three principles” for deescalating the conflict, namely no expansion of the battlefield, no escalation of fighting and no fanning up the flames by any party, in particular, no use of weapons of mass destruction or no attack on nuclear power plants and other peaceful nuclear facilities. The international community should firmly stand on the side of peace, accumulating conditions for peace and striving for hope for peace.
In the choice between reconciliation and hatred, it is essential to firmly choose reconciliation. Russia and Ukraine are neighbours always be there for each other, and peaceful coexistence is the shared aspiration of all parties and the only correct choice. It is necessary to respect the sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity of all countries, observe the purposes and principles of the UN Charter, value the legitimate security concerns of all countries, and ensure the legitimate living space of all ethnic groups. The Russian and Ukrainian peoples have lived together on the same land, creating a shared history. There should be no unresolved grievances; instead, they should work together to open up a better future.
In the choice between dialogue and confrontation, it is essential to firmly choose dialogue. No matter how great the conflicts or how deep the contradictions are, everything must ultimately return to the track of dialogue and negotiation. At the onset of the full escalation of the Ukraine crisis, both Russia and Ukraine were close to reaching an agreement, but it ultimately fell through, and the reasons for this should be reflected upon. China hopes that the parties involved will consider resuming peace talks at an appropriate time, meet each other halfway in their dialogue, and seek common ground while shelving differences in their negotiations, fairly discuss all peace plans, and promote the establishment of a new security architecture.
Wang Yi said that Brazil, China, South Africa, Egypt, Indonesia, Türkiye and other countries, as partners of the Global South committed to the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis, agreed to launch the “Friends of Peace” initiative on the Ukraine crisis at the platform of the United Nations. The “Friends of Peace” platform is not about taking sides in the conflict, engaging in bloc confrontation, or replacing existing platforms. They hope to rely on the United Nations to bring together more Global South countries and send more objective, balanced and rational voices, so as to accumulate conditions and create an atmosphere for a ceasefire, an end to hostilities and the resumption of peace talks. The “Friends of Peace” platform is open and welcomes the joining of more like-minded countries, in particular, Global South countries.
Source: https://www.mfa.gov.cn/eng/wjbzhd/202409/t20240929_11500459.html of 28 September 2024
Common Understandings between China and Brazil on political settlement of the Ukraine crisis
On 23 May 2024, H. E. Wang Yi, Member of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee and Minister of Foreign Affairs of China, met with H. E. Celso Amorim, Chief Advisor to the President of Brazil, in Beijing. The two sides had an in-depth exchange of views on pushing for the political settlement of the Ukraine crisis and calling for the de-escalation of the situation, and reached the following common understandings:
1 The two sides call on all relevant parties to observe three principles for deescalating the situation, namely no expansion of the battlefield, no escalation of fighting and no provocation by any party.
2 The two sides believe that dialogue and negotiation are the only viable solution to the Ukraine crisis. All parties should create conditions for the resumption of direct dialogue and push for the de-escalation of the situation until the realisation of a comprehensive ceasefire. China and Brazil support an international peace conference held at a proper time that is recognised by both Russia and Ukraine, with equal participation of all parties as well as fair discussion of all peace plans.
3. Efforts are needed to increase humanitarian assistance to relevant regions and prevent a humanitarian crisis on a larger scale. Attacks on civilians or civilian facilities must be avoided, and civilians including women and children and prisoners of war (POWs) must be protected. The two sides support the exchange of POWs between the parties to the conflict.
4. The use of weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons and chemical and biological weapons must be opposed. All possible efforts must be made to prevent nuclear proliferation and avoid nuclear crisis.
5. Attacks on nuclear power plants and other peaceful nuclear facilities must be opposed. All parties should comply with international law including the Convention on Nuclear Safety and resolutely prevent man-made nuclear accidents.
6. Dividing the world into isolated political or economic groups should be opposed. The two sides call for efforts to enhance international cooperation on energy, currency, finance, trade, food security and the security of critical infrastructure, including oil and gas pipelines, undersea optical cables, electricity and energy facilities, and fibre-optic networks, so as to protect the stability of global industrial and supply chains.
The two sides welcome members of the international community to support and endorse the above-mentioned common understandings, and jointly play a constructive role in deescalating the situation and promoting peace talks.
Source: https://www.gov.br/planalto/en/latest-news/2024/05/brazil-and-china-present-joint-proposal-for-peace-negotiations-with-the-participation-of-russia-and-ukraine of 23 May 2024