RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — Leaders of the world’s 20 largest economies have called for a global pact to fight hunger, more aid for war-torn Gaza and an end to hostilities in the Middle East and Ukraine. generalities, but few details on how to achieve these goals.
The joint statement was endorsed by the group members, but could not count on complete unanimity. It also called for a future global tax on billionaires and reforms that would allow for the eventual expansion of the United Nations Security Council beyond its five current permanent members.
At the start of the three-day meeting, which formally ends on Wednesday, experts doubted whether Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva could convince the assembled leaders to reach an agreement at all in a meeting fraught with uncertainty over the incoming government of the new American president. Donald Trump, and increased global tensions over wars in the Middle East and Ukraine.
Argentina disputed some of the language in the initial drafts and was the only country not to endorse the entire document.
“Although it is generic, it is a positive surprise for Brazil,” said Thomas Traumann, an independent political consultant and former Brazilian minister. “There was a point when there was a risk that no charges would be filed at all. Despite the caveats, it is a good result for Lula.”
Condemning wars, calling for peace, but without blaming
The statement, which came just over a year after the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel, referred to the “catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza and the escalation in Lebanon,” emphasizing the urgent need to expand humanitarian assistance and better protect citizens.
“We affirm the Palestinian right to self-determination and reiterate our unwavering commitment to the vision of the two-state solution in which Israel and a Palestinian state live side by side in peace,” the report said.
There was no mention of Israel’s suffering or of the hundred or so hostages Hamas continues to hold. Israel is not a member of the G20. According to local health officials, the war has so far killed more than 43,000 Palestinians in Gaza, and more than 3,500 people in Lebanon following Israel’s offensive against Hezbollah, according to the Lebanese Health Ministry.
The omitted recognition of Israel’s need appeared to conflict with US President Joe Biden’s consistent support for Israel’s right to defend itself. It’s something Biden always notes in public, even when he speaks about the hardship of Palestinians. At a meeting with G20 leaders before the declaration was pushed through, Biden expressed his view that Hamas alone is responsible for the war and called on fellow leaders to “increase the pressure on Hamas” for a ceasefire to accept.
Biden’s decision to ease restrictions on Ukraine’s use of longer-range U.S. missiles so that country could strike deeper into Russia also played a role in the meetings.
“The United States strongly supports the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine. I think everyone around this table should do the same,” Biden said during the summit.
Russian President Vladimir Putin did not attend the meeting and instead sent his Foreign Minister, Sergei Lavrov. Putin has avoided such summits after the International Criminal Court issued an order requiring member states to arrest him.
The G20 statement highlighted human suffering in Ukraine while calling for peace, without mentioning Russia by name.
“The statement avoids pointing the finger at the perpetrators,” said Paulo Velasco, professor of international relations at Rio de Janeiro State University. “That is, it does not make any critical mention of Israel or Russia, but it highlights the dramatic humanitarian situations in both cases.”
The entire statement lacks specificity, Velasco added.
“It’s very much in line with what Brazil was hoping for… but if we really analyze it carefully, it’s very much a statement of intent. It is a statement of goodwill on several issues, but we have very few concrete, tangible measures.”
Charged attempt to tax global billionaires
The statement called for a possible tax on global billionaires, which Lula supports. Such a tax would affect about 3,000 people around the world, including about 100 in Latin America.
The clause was included despite opposition from Argentina. So did another promoting gender equality, said Brazilian and other officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
Argentina signed the G20 declaration, but also had problems with references to the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. The right-wing president, Javier Milei, has referred to the agenda as “a supranational program of a socialist nature.” It also objected to calls to regulate hate speech on social media, which Milei said infringes on national sovereignty, and to the idea that governments should do more to fight hunger.
Milei has often taken on a Trump-like role as a spoiler in multilateral talks led by his outspoken critic Lula.
Concrete steps to combat global hunger
Much of the statement focuses on eradicating hunger – a priority for Lula.
The Brazilian government stressed that Lula’s launch of the Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty on Monday was as important as the G20’s final declaration. By Monday, 82 countries had signed the plan, the Brazilian government said. It is also supported by organizations such as the Rockefeller Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
At a demonstration Sunday on Rio’s Copacabana Beach, 733 empty plates were seen scattered across the sand, representing the 733 million people who would go hungry in 2023, according to United Nations data.
Viviana Santiago, director of anti-poverty nonprofit Oxfam, praised Brazil for using its G20 presidency “to respond to the demands of people worldwide to tackle extreme inequality, hunger and the climate crisis, and especially for organizing action to tax the super-rich.”
“Brazil has paved the way to a more just and resilient world and challenges others to step up to their plate at this critical moment,” she said in a statement.
Long-awaited reform of the United Nations
Leaders pledged to work toward a “transformative reform” of the UN Security Council so that it meets “the realities and demands of the 21st century and makes it more representative, inclusive, efficient, effective, democratic and accountable.”
Lula has been calling for Security Council reform since his first two terms in power, from 2003 to 2010, without gaining much traction. Charged with maintaining international peace and security, the original 1945 structure has not changed. Five dominant powers at the end of World War II have veto power – the US, Russia, China, Britain and France – while ten countries from different regions serve rotating two-year terms.
Nearly all countries agree that nearly eighty decades after the founding of the United Nations, the Security Council must be expanded to reflect the 21st century world and allow more voices to be heard. The central dilemma and biggest disagreement remains how to do that. The G20 statement does not answer that question.
“We call for an expanded composition of the Security Council that enhances the representation of underrepresented and unrepresented regions and groups, such as Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean,” the statement said.
Shortly before a UN summit in September, the United States announced its support for two new permanent seats for African countries, without veto power, and a first-ever non-permanent seat for a small developing island. But the Group of Four – Brazil, Germany, India and Japan – are backing each other’s bid for permanent seats. And the larger Uniting for Consensus group of a dozen countries, including Pakistan, Italy, Turkey and Mexico, wants additional non-permanent seats with longer terms.
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Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani in Rio de Janeiro, Edith M. Lederer at the United Nations and Isabel DeBre in La Paz, Bolivia contributed.
