Brazil criticizes politicization, does not support WHO resolution condemning Russia

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – With Brazil abstaining, the WHO (World Health Organization) approved on Thursday, May 26, a resolution condemning Russia for the attacks against medical facilities and health services in Ukraine and criticizing the military operation in the neighboring country.

The text leaves a gap so that, in the future, cooperation projects with Moscow can be suspended, and even a greater exclusion by the Kremlin.

The resolution was approved with the support of 88 countries. Twelve governments voted against it, including Cuba, China, Syria, Russia, and North Korea. Fifty-three countries chose to abstain, including Brazil, Saudi Arabia, other middle-eastern countries, and much of Africa.

Chile, Argentina, Mexico, Uruguay, Ecuador, Colombia, Peru, and Paraguay did not follow the Brazilian abstention and supported the project. USA, Europe, Japan, and Canada also voted for condemnation.

When the result was announced, delegations stood up to applaud the result, in a rare act within the UN. Still, the effort to isolate Russia by the Western powers has been losing steam. After three months of conflict, many delegations feel that the “diplomatic override” may exacerbate tension.

Europeans and Americans successfully suspended Russia from the Human Rights Council and technical bodies and canceled cooperation projects. In contrast, the measure at the WHO was not for more radical action.

Washington and Brussels fear that, with a harder resolution, the powers would not get enough votes to approve the document. The choice was for a resolution limited to condemning Russia and asking that attacks against health workers and health care facilities cease.

To undermine Western pressure, Russia’s government proposed an alternative resolution. It called for all sides in the conflict to respect civilians and for attacks against hospitals to be avoided. Americans and Europeans called the move “cynical”.

The Russian draft, which Syria supported, was rejected. Brazil, however, kept its abstention, alongside 69 other countries. 15 governments voted alongside the Russians – countries like North Korea, Burundi, China, Iran, and Cuba. But 66 votes against prevented the approval of the text.

At the beginning of the conflict, Brazil voted alongside Americans and Europeans in resolutions condemning the Russians and began to adopt a different posture in UN technical bodies. In the evaluation of Jair Bolsonaro’s government, such exclusion would hinder the dialogue between the parties in the conflict and threaten the international entities themselves.

When explaining its vote on Thursday, Brazil’s Foreign Ministry’s (Itamaraty) delegation made it clear that it chose not to support either resolution because it considers that they politicize the debate, deepen polarization, and are unnecessary.

According to the government, the WHO has an important role in places of conflict, and Brazil recognizes the health challenges in Ukraine. But Itamaraty clarifies that it considers the agency already has this mandate and that a specific document for Ukraine was not necessary. The government also recalls that the same gesture was not made in other countries at war.

Itamaraty also criticized the lack of transparency on the part of the authors of the resolutions and the absence of a space for negotiation. “That is why we do not support any of them,” Itamaraty declared.

However, for Europeans, the Brazilian position benefits Vladimir Putin, one of Bolsonaro’s international allies.

Brazil was not the only one to choose to abstain. Some of the BRICS countries, such as India and South Africa, followed the same pattern. China, for example, voted against and claimed that the WHO was not the right place to deal with the issue of war and peace in Ukraine.

In presenting the resolution, the Ukrainian delegation insisted that Russians have been committing crimes and that once a ceasefire has been established, health services can resume. Meanwhile, the Russian government criticized the governments supporting Ukraine, warning that they should be “delivering medicine, not weapons.” For Moscow, there is a risk of politicization of the WHO.

The US government also called for the international community to approve the resolution. “Russian aggression has displaced 8 million people and led to 6.4 million refugees. As of last week, there were 226 attacks against medical facilities. Three attacks a day since February. Even maternity hospitals have not been spared,” said the US delegation to the WHO.

With information from UOL