Brazil’s Lula Uses U.N. Stage to Defend Judiciary, Demand Action on Hunger and Climate

Opening the United Nations General Assembly’s high-level debate on Tuesday, Brazil’s President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva delivered a sweeping defense of multilateralism and Brazil’s democratic institutions, arguing the world body’s authority is being eroded by power politics, unilateral sanctions and attacks on national sovereignty.

He said recent “unilateral attacks” against Brazil’s economy and judiciary were unacceptable, a pointed response to measures imposed by Washington following the conviction of former president Jair Bolsonaro for attempting to subvert the 2022 election.

Framing the erosion of global cooperation as inseparable from the weakening of democracy, Lula said authoritarian currents thrive when the international community fails to uphold the rule of law.

He cast Brazil’s recent courtroom clash with anti-democratic actors as proof that institutions are functioning, noting the former head of state’s conviction after due process.

“Our democracy and our sovereignty are non-negotiable,” he said, underscoring that Brazil resisted intimidation and defended the independence of its courts. Lula folded domestic policy milestones into a broader governance agenda.

He highlighted Brazil’s new child-online-safety law, enacted last week, as evidence that regulation can protect the vulnerable without curbing free expression—part of a push he wants mirrored in global digital governance.

Lula Calls for Hunger, Climate, and Governance Action

On social policy, he said Brazil has again left the U.N. “Hunger Map” this year and urged countries to redirect resources from arms to development, debt relief and minimum global tax standards for the ultra-wealthy.

He tied those pledges to Brazil’s G20-era Global Alliance Against Hunger and Poverty, which has drawn backing from scores of governments and institutions since its launch.

Climate featured prominently. With COP30 set for November in Belém, Lula pressed for a results-oriented summit and promoted Brazil’s Tropical Forests Forever Facility—a proposed endowment to pay countries for keeping forests standing.

He said Brazil has cut Amazon deforestation roughly in half over two years and argued lasting progress requires predictable finance for forest nations. His remarks landed amid a tense opening week in New York dominated by the Gaza war and wider geopolitical rifts.

U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres warned leaders the world has entered “an age of reckless disruption,” as calls for a durable ceasefire and a viable two-state solution echoed through the hall. Lula situated Brazil’s positions within that debate while urging diplomacy over escalation in multiple conflict zones.

Beyond immediate crises, Lula reiterated themes he has pressed before: reforming global governance to reflect today’s multipolar realities and reviving confidence in rule-based cooperation.

From U.N. decision-making to trade rules, he argued, the system must be updated to serve more than the most powerful. Brazil’s message, he said, is that democracy, development and climate action rise or fall together—and that multilateralism will endure only if it delivers tangible results.