BRICS, the UN Charta and why the West feigns to be threatened
On the XVII BRICS summit in Brazil
by Karl-Jürgen Müller
This year’s BRICS summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 6–7 July attracted a great deal of attention. Quite different kinds of attention.
The mainstream in the West vacillated between condemnation (“Summit of rogue states. What Putin, Xi and the mullahs are planning against us,” wrote the German tabloid “Bild” on 6 July) and disparagement (the “Neue Zürcher Zeitung” ran the headline on 5 July about this year’s BRICS chair, Brazilian President Lula da Silva: “Unlucky on the global stage, uninspired at home,” and on 7 July: “The BRICS myth is crumbling,” and the [German] ARD Tagesschau news programme stated on 6 July: “BRICS summit in Brazil: Meeting of the divided”). The US president’s threat during the BRICS summit to impose a 10 per cent punitive tariff on all countries that “participate in the anti-American policies of BRICS,” Trump’s adulation of former Brazilian President Bolsonaro, his description of the upcoming court case against Bolsonaro as a “witch hunt”, his gaffe about the Russian president talking “bullshit”, and his announcement that he would supply new weapons to Ukraine are also likely to be reactions to the BRICS summit.
In almost all non-Western countries, i.e., in most of the world, the situation is quite different. Here, the prevailing hope is that BRICS has created something that is growing and can help to gradually achieve the goals formulated by the United Nations when it was founded 80 years ago. Indeed, anyone who listens to and reads the speeches from this year’s BRICS summit, who sees the many images of cooperation, who thoroughly studies the comprehensive final declaration (31 pages with 126 points, see an excerpt in the box below), and who analyses the positive reactions from around the world will recognise that no new military alliance, no new “bloc” against any other country in the world has been or is being forged but that BRICS is an attempt to promote peace and justice, prosperity and well-being, protection of culture and nature, and much more – for all people of the world and in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations (see box). However, this presupposes that the West abandons its hegemonic aspirations which fundamentally violate the principles of the United Nations Charter.
The insinuation that BRICS was a “bloc”, led by China and Russia and directed against the West, is a chimera of Western enemy narrative. In Rio de Janeiro, it was emphasised once again that the aim is to improve relations between all states and peoples. To give just one example: the newly elected Indonesian President Prabowo – Indonesia has been a member of BRICS since January 2025 – emphasised at the BRICS summit that he wanted to be a “builder of bridges between the Global South and the Global North”1. BRICS, representing more than 40 per cent of the world’s population, could also mediate in conflicts – “without the historical baggage of alliances from the Cold War era”. The President of South Africa, the Prime Minister of India and the President of Brazil expressed similar views.
However, President Lula da Silva also mentioned what is probably a key reason for Western, and especially US, resistance to BRICS: BRICS is an alliance of “countries wishing for a different kind of global economy” – without the dictates of a single country and without dependence on a single currency. BRICS countries already conduct their bilateral trade in their national currencies. Lula da Silva: “The world must find a way to ensure that our trade relations do not have to be conducted via the dollar.” And then: “I think that is why BRICS makes some people uncomfortable.”
In their final declaration, the BRICS countries condemn the Israeli-American war of aggression against Iran as a violation of international law and the UN Charter (point 21). They support the peace efforts of the African states and the Group of Friends of Peace, founded in 2024 (during the UN General Assembly last September), for the war in Ukraine (point 22). And they call in detail for compliance with international law and international humanitarian law for the Palestinians in the Gaza Strip and the Occupied Palestinian Territories (points 21–27). They also take a corresponding position on the numerous other hotspots of conflict and developments threatening peace in the world (points 29–41) – always with reference to United Nations declarations and resolutions. These statements are not a one-sided taking of sides in conflicts but demands for compliance with international law – as would actually be the task of the United Nations and, in particular, the Security Council.
At the end of the BRICS summit, the Brazilian president was asked to comment on the US president’s renewed threats against the BRICS countries and their supporting countries. His response: “To be honest, I do not think I should comment on that. I do not think it is responsible or reputable for the president of a country like the United States to threaten the world via the internet. The world has changed. We do not want an emperor. We are sovereign nations.” He continued: “Within BRICS, we are convinced that we no longer want a world under guardianship. We do not want a Cold War, we do not want disregard for sovereignty, and we do not want war anymore.” (emphasis added by km) •
1 https://thediplomat.com/2025/07/to-be-a-bridge-builder-indonesias-debut-at-the-BRICS-summit/ of 8 July 2025
What is BRICS?
km. BRICS is an association of non-Western countries based on the principles of equal rights and state sovereignty. Its declared purpose is co-operation that benefits everyone and the aim of making the voice of the Global South and East heard in world politics. Founded in 2006 by Brazil, Russia, India and the People’s Republic of China, the organisation was expanded to include South Africa in 2010. The first summit was held in 2009 in Ekaterinburg, Russia. The starting point for its establishment was the desire to create an alternative to the US-dominated Bretton Woods system with its institutions, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. Its failure became apparent during the global financial crisis in 2008. Since its foundation, BRICS summits and BRICS declarations have added more and more areas of life that go far beyond economic issues.
Since 1 January 2024, the BRICS countries have included Egypt, Ethiopia, Iran and the United Arab Emirates in addition to the eponymous members Brazil (B), Russia (R), India (I), China (C) and South Africa (S). Indonesia joined as a further full member at the start of 2025. There are also ten partner countries that have the right to participate in BRICS consultations: Belarus, Bolivia, Kazakhstan, Cuba, Malaysia, Thailand, Uganda, Uzbekistan, Nigeria and Vietnam. Numerous other countries are endeavouring to become members or cooperate more closely with BRICS and are also taking part in the BRICS summits. As in Russia last year, the Secretary-General of the United Nations also attended this year’s BRICS summit.
The ten BRICS countries represent 48.6 per cent of the world’s population, 30.3 per cent of nominal GDP and 38.3 per cent of global GDP calculated according to purchasing power parity. With a value of 0.7, the Human Development Index (HDI) is relatively high. More figures on BRICS can also be found here in the West, for example at the German Federal Statistical Office (https://www.destatis.de/DE/Themen/Laender-Regionen/Internationales/Thema/allgemeines-regionales/BRICS/_inhalt.html).
BRICS also includes the Shanghai-based New Development Bank, which has set itself the goal of granting loans to countries in the Global South and East independently of the IMF, World Bank and the US dollar and without political conditions.
BRICS has no bureaucratic superstructure. The chairmanship changes every year. And the conferences on various topics and the annual summits are also held in the country of the respective chair.
Rio de Janeiro Declaration: Strengthening Global South Cooperation for a More Inclusive and Sustainable Governance (Excerpts)
2. We reaffirm our commitment to the BRICS spirit of mutual respect and understanding, sovereign equality, solidarity, democracy, openness, inclusiveness, collaboration and consensus. As we build upon 17 years of BRICS Summits, we further commit ourselves to strengthening cooperation in the expanded BRICS under the three pillars of political and security, economic and financial, cultural and people-to-people cooperation, and to enhancing our strategic partnership for the benefit of our people through the promotion of peace, a more representative, fairer international order, a reinvigorated and reformed multilateral system, sustainable development and inclusive growth.
5. We reiterate our commitment to reforming and improving global governance by promoting a more just, equitable, agile, effective, efficient, responsive, representative, legitimate, democratic and accountable international and multilateral system in the spirit of extensive consultation, joint contribution and shared benefits. […] Bearing in mind the need to adapt the current architecture of international relations to better reflect the contemporary realities, we reaffirm our commitment to multilateralism and upholding the international law, including the Purposes and Principles enshrined in the Charter of the United Nations (UN), in their entirety and interconnectedness as its indispensable cornerstone, and the central role of the UN in the international system, in which sovereign states cooperate to maintain international peace and security, advance sustainable development, ensure the promotion and protection of democracy, human rights and fundamental freedoms for all as well as cooperation based on solidarity, mutual respect, justice and equality. […]
6. Recognizing the 2023 Johannesburg-II Leaders’ Declaration, we reiterate our support for a comprehensive reform of the United Nations, including its Security Council, with a view to making it more democratic, representative, effective and efficient, and to increase the representation of developing countries in the Council’s memberships so that it can adequately respond to prevailing global challenges and support the legitimate aspirations of emerging and developing countries from Africa, Asia and Latin America, including BRICS countries, to play a greater role in international affairs, in particular in the United Nations, including its Security Council. […]
7. In light of the 80th anniversary of the United Nations, we recall UNGA Resolutions 75/1, 77/335 and other relevant resolutions, and reiterate our commitment to provide the United Nations with all the required support it needs to discharge its mandate. We emphasize the strong call for reforms of the principal organs of the United Nations with a view to achieving concrete progress. We recommit to instill new life in the discussions on reform of the UN Security Council and continue the work to revitalize the General Assembly and strengthen the Economic and Social Council. We look forward to the successful conclusion of the 2025 Review of the Peacebuilding architecture.
8. We agree that, in the context of the contemporary realities of the multipolar world, it is crucial that developing countries strengthen their efforts to promote dialogue and consultations for more just and equitable global governance and mutually beneficial relations among nations. We acknowledge that multipolarity can expand opportunities for EMDCs to develop their constructive potential and enjoy universally beneficial, inclusive and equitable economic globalization and cooperation. We highlight the importance of the Global South as a driver for positive change, especially in the face of significant international challenges, including deepening geopolitical tensions, rapid economic downturns and technological changes, protectionist measures and migratory challenges. We believe BRICS countries continue to play a pivotal role in voicing the concerns and priorities of the Global South, as well as in promoting a more just, sustainable, inclusive, representative and stable international order based on international law.
17. We express concern about ongoing conflicts in many parts of the world and the current state of polarization and fragmentation in the international order. We express alarm at the current trend that has seen a critical increase in global military spending, to the detriment of the provision of adequate financing for development to developing countries. We advocate for a multilateral approach that respects diverse national viewpoints and positions on crucial global issues, including sustainable development, the eradication of hunger and poverty and contributing to the global response to climate change, while expressing deep concern over attempts to link security with the climate change agenda.
18. We note the current global context of polarization and distrust and encourage global action to strengthen international peace and security. We call on the international community to respond to these challenges and associated security threats through politico-diplomatic measures to lower conflict potential and stress the need to engage in conflict prevention efforts, including through addressing their root causes. We underscore that security among all countries is indivisible and reiterate our commitment to the peaceful resolution of international disputes through dialogue, consultation and diplomacy. We encourage the active role of regional organizations in conflict prevention and resolution and support all efforts conducive to the peaceful settlement of crises. We highlight the importance of mediation and preventive diplomacy as essential tools to avoid crises and prevent their escalation, in accordance with the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter. In this regard, we agree to explore avenues for cooperation on the prevention of armed conflicts, UN peacekeeping missions, African Union peace support operations, and mediation and peace processes.
19. We reaffirm our strong commitment to strengthening multilateral cooperation to address humanitarian crises worldwide and express concern at the dwindling of international responses, which were already insufficient, fragmented and often politicized. We strongly condemn all violations of international humanitarian law, including deliberate attacks against civilians and civilian objects, including civilian infrastructure, as well as the denial or obstruction of humanitarian access and the targeting of humanitarian personnel. We underline the need to address accountability for all violations of international humanitarian law. Such breaches of international law not only intensify immediate suffering but also undermine prospects for lasting peace by destroying the material and social foundations necessary for post-conflict reconstruction. We recognize international efforts undertaken by BRICS members to promote respect for, adherence to, and effective implementation of International Humanitarian Law.
From the Charter of the United Nations
Preamble
«We the peoples of the United Nations determined
- to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, which twice in our lifetime has brought untold sorrow to mankind, and
- to reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person, in the equal rights of men and women and of nations large and small, and
- to establish conditions under which justice and respect for the obligations arising from treaties and other sources of international law can be maintained, and
- to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,
and for these ends
- to practice tolerance and live together in peace with one another as good neighbours, and
- to unite our strength to maintain international peace and security, and
- to ensure, by the acceptance of principles and the institution of methods, that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest, and
- to employ international machinery for the promotion of the economic and social advancement of all peoples,
have resolved to combine our efforts to accomplish the aims […]”
Article 1
“The Purposes of the United Nations are:
- To maintain international peace and security, and to that end: to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace, and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, adjustment or settlement of international disputes or situations which might lead to a breach of the peace;
- To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace;
- To achieve international co-operation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion; and
- To be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends.”
Article 2
“The Organization and its Members, in pursuit of the Purposes stated in Article 1, shall act in accordance with the following Principles.
- The Organization is based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members.
- […]
- All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security, and justice, are not endangered.
- All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations. …]”