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Honduran leader must be returned to power, Brazil tells UN debate

23 September 2009 – Brazil’s President today called for a return to power of Honduran leader José Manuel Zelaya following the recent coup d’état in the Latin American nation as he told the General Assembly’s annual high-level debate that political will is vital to confronting and overcoming threats against peace, development and democracy.

“Unless there is political will, we will see more coups like the one that toppled the constitutional President of Honduras,” Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva said.

Since Monday, Mr. Zelaya, who was forced from office in late June, has been seeking refuge in the Brazilian embassy in the Honduran capital, Tegucigalpa.

“The international community demands that Mr. Zelaya immediately return to the presidency of his country and must be alert to ensure the inviolability of Brazil’s diplomatic mission in the capital of Honduras,” Mr. da Silva told the dozens of heads of State and government gathered at UN Headquarters in New York.

Political will is also essential in the fight against climate change, the Brazilian leader emphasized.

“We are dismayed by the reluctance of developed countries to shoulder their share of the burden when it comes to fighting climate change,” he said. “They cannot burden developing countries with tasks which are theirs alone.”

For its part, Brazil has taken actions to combat global warming, ahead of December’s climate change meeting in Copenhagen, Denmark, where negotiations on a new agreement to curb greenhouse gas emissions are set to wrap up.

Brazil, Mr. da Silva said, has approved a strategy that includes an 80 per cent cut in the rate of deforestation of the Amazon basin by 2020, as well as carbon dioxide emission cuts of nearly 5 billion tons, which is greater than the total sum of commitments by developed countries.

On the energy front, Brazil’s blend is one of the world’s cleanest, he stressed, with almost half of the energy consumed coming from renewable sources.

In his address, the Brazilian President also pointed out that the shift towards a multilateral and multipolar world is a boon for the United Nations, giving it “the political and moral authority to solve the conflicts in the Middle East, assuring the co-existence of a Palestinian State with the State of Israel.”

Multipolarity will also invigorate the world body in its efforts to combat terrorism, achieve disarmament and protect the environment, he said.