Lula Delivers a Powerful Message at the Opening of the UN General Assembly

As Trump chose the path of barbarism, threatening to annihilate the Islamic Republic and dismantling international institutions, Lula took the UN pulpit to defend another path: diplomacy, dialogue and civilisation, and questioned a foundational idea of International Relations.

The main international politics and geopolitical messages in Lula’s UN General Assembly speech can be summarised as follows:

UN credibility and the crisis of multilateralism:Lula argues that the UN is failing in its central mission of preventing war, with Security Council paralysis and the veto power of the great powers undermining its legitimacy.

Great-power politics versus international law:He criticises what he describes as the growing acceptance of the “law of the stronger”, arguing that powerful states cannot treat international rules as optional. He presents this not as idealism but as a matter of political realism.

A new global arms race:Lula warns that the number of armed conflicts has reached its highest level since the Second World War and that enormous resources are being directed toward rearmament, increasing the risk that regional wars could become global conflicts.

Multilateralism versus unilateralism:One of his central geopolitical choices is between multilateralism and unilateralism, alongside democracy versus extremism and sovereignty versus subordination. Brazil presents itself as defending a rules-based, more plural international order.

Gaza and the Middle East:Lula strongly criticises Israel’s conduct in Gaza while also condemning Hamas’s attacks on Israeli civilians. He argues that pressure against the ICC weakens accountability and warns that settlements in the West Bank are undermining the possibility of a two-state solution.

Hormuz and the global economic consequences of war:The conflict around the Strait of Hormuz is presented not simply as a regional security issue but as a threat to global trade,........

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