Foreign Minister condemns military intervention in Syria.

Renata Giraldi and Carolina Sarres
Reporters from Agência Brasil

Brasilia – Foreign Minister Luiz Alberto Figueiredo Machado today (2) criticized what he called the “paralysis” of the United Nations Security Council in the search for a negotiated solution to end the impasse in Syria. Figueiredo rejected a military intervention in the region, as announced by the United States, and defended the effort for a political agreement capable of ending two and a half years of crisis in the country.

"The UN Security Council is paralyzed on this issue," stressed Figueiredo, who gave a press conference alongside the Japanese Foreign Minister, Fumio Kishida, at the Itamaraty Palace. The visitor added that "Japan awaits a peaceful solution to the matter."

According to the Brazilian Foreign Minister, the international community's role in the Syrian conflict must be through negotiation. "In the Syrian case, there is no military solution. It will have to be a political solution. We support a second meeting in Geneva to seek [a solution] through dialogue. The solution must be political," he argued.

For Figueiredo, it is unacceptable to support military action, such as that advocated by the United States with the support of the United Kingdom and France, without the backing of the Security Council. "We cannot support the use of force without the express authorization of the Security Council. The use of force in international relations is foreseen as a last resort – in cases of self-defense and in the case of a specific determination by the council. That is not what we have today. Therefore, any action involving the use of force will be a violation of international law," he said.

Of the 15 countries on the Security Council, five are permanent members – the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia, and China – and ten are rotating members, whose term lasts two years. Currently, the non-permanent members are Argentina, Australia, Azerbaijan, Guatemala, Luxembourg, Morocco, Pakistan, South Korea, Rwanda, and Togo.

The Security Council is intended to guarantee the maintenance of international peace and security. It is the only body in the international system capable of adopting decisions that are binding on all member states of the UN, and may even authorize military intervention to ensure the implementation of its resolutions.

The council is also responsible for authorizing peacekeeping operations and special political missions, such as the one currently underway in Haiti, which includes Brazilian personnel. A Security Council resolution is approved if it obtains a majority of nine of the 15 members, but it will not be applied if any of the five permanent members veto (vote against).

Figueiredo also condemned the use of chemical weapons in the Syrian conflict, as occurred on the 21st, killing approximately one thousand people, including children and teenagers, in the outskirts of Damascus, the country's capital. "The use of chemical weapons is intolerable, there is no doubt about it," he reiterated, noting that a group of experts who visited Syria are preparing a report on the subject.

Edited by: Davi Oliveira