VZCZCXRO5483
RR RUEHRG
DE RUEHBR #1093 2431938
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 311938Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY BRASILIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 4979
INFO RUEHPU/AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE 0231
RUEHRG/AMCONSUL RECIFE 9863
RUEHRI/AMCONSUL RIO DE JANEIRO 8123
RUEHSO/AMCONSUL SAO PAULO 4468
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 0324

UNCLAS BRASILIA 001093 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR IO/UNP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL UNGA BR
SUBJECT: BRAZILIAN VIEWS OF 2009 UNGA 
 
REF: BRASILIA 1076 
 
¶1.  Brazil's priorities for this year's UNGA are little 
different than in previous years: UNSC reform, Haiti and 
stability in Latin America.  With recent controversy in the 
region surrounding the announcement of the U.S.-Colombia 
Defense Cooperation Agreement, Ministry for External 
Relations (MRE) UN Director Gilda Neves reports that MRE will 
recommend that President Lula use his speech to the UNGA to 
highlight the principles of national sovereignty and the 
undesireability of having foreign forces stationed in the 
region. According to Neves, Brazil favors a meeting between 
President Obama and UNASUL leaders on the margins of the 
UNGA.  This hard line approach, combined with private 
overtures to the USG, is consistent with the approach MRE 
officials outlined in ref a of criticizing the USG publicly 
to gain favor with Venezuela and other neighboring 
governments that would help Brazil moderate their reactions. 
 
¶2.  For Brazil, a key factor for this year's UNGA will be 
preparation for Brazil's expected 2010 return to the Security 
Council as a non-permanent member.  Brazilian leaders plan to 
begin bilateral consultations with UNSC members, particularly 
the P5, to formulate positions on key issues the the Council 
is expected to address in 2010.  According to Neves, the GOB 
believes that the UN has "room to do more" to manage 
potential conflicts in such places as Guinea Bissau and East 
Timor.  COMMENT: The GOB considers the upcoming UNSC term to 
be important as a means of maing Brazil's case, particularly 
to other developing countries, for a permamnent seat. END 
COMMENT. 
 
¶3.  Neves expressed pessimism toward the UNSC reform process. 
 She saw the inter governmental negotiations as deadlocked by 
competing interests with little chance of consensus and was 
dismissive of potential compromise proposals.  According to 
Neves, the best chance for progress would be if the USG were 
to come out strongly in favor of a proposal for a reformed 
UNSC and bring along other P5 members.  This would result in 
a "large majority" in the GA.  Neves saw France as most 
sympathetic to Brazil's aspirations but admitted that the 
French were more concerned with keeping their own UNSC seat 
in the face of pressure to avoid over representation of 
Europe, than in helping Brazil. 
 
¶4.  Having recently visited Brazilian peacekeepers in Haiti, 
Neves commented that while there had been progress in 
building civil society over the last year, the UN mission 
suffered from inadequate resources.  Although the April 2009 
donors conference resulted in $300 million in pledges, none 
of these funds have begun to support UN activities.  The 
increase in the numbers have Brazilian military engineers has 
provided a much needed capability to MINUSTAH, but the 
Brazilians are limited in what they can do by a lack of 
materials.  The UN has provided what it can, and Brazil is 
now looking for national contributions that will allow its 
engineers to take on more infrastructure building projects. 
KUBISKE