The final declaration of the 10th Summit of Presidents of Parliaments of the G20 (P20), released this Friday (8), reinforces the commitment of parliamentarians to combat hunger and poverty, defend sustainable development and reform global governance.
“If a parliament is the forum par excellence for discussions in society, the union of parliaments could be nothing other than a stage for great debates on global problems and challenges”, stated the president of the Chamber, Arthur Lira (PP-AL)at the end of the dome.
The document will be delivered during the G20 summit meeting in Rio de Janeiro (RJ), which takes place on the 18th and 19th of this month. The motto of this year’s P20, under the presidency of Brazil, is “Parliaments for a fair world and a sustainable planet”. The Argentine delegation did not want to sign the final declaration.
Continues after advertising
The next edition of the event will take place in South Africa, in 2025.
The final declaration is structured around three thematic axes:
Continues after advertising
- the fight against hunger, poverty and inequality;
- the three dimensions of sustainable development (economic, social and environmental);
- global governance reform.
The president of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Tulia Ackson, defended greater accountability of parliaments for the commitments in the document. “Now is the time to take this joint declaration into our homes and ensure that our words are backed by concrete actions,” he said.
The document reinforces the need for joint efforts to offer an effective and relevant parliamentary contribution to the G20 process, including working together with the respective governments to fulfill the commitments made at this year’s summit.
“I am grateful for the constructive spirit that everyone involved demonstrated throughout the consultation process, even in relation to the most complex topics”, stated the president of the Senate, Rodrigo Pacheco (PSDB-MG)in a statement read by Lira. Pacheco did not attend the closing for family reasons.
Continues after advertising
Inequality
The declaration proposes the development of instruments to guarantee food and nutritional security, the establishment of adequate working conditions, and equitable access to opportunities and resources, including water, education, health and basic sanitation to address socioeconomic inequality.
The text defines that this should include efforts to increase humanitarian aid to countries affected by food crises. “The eradication of poverty is a fundamental global challenge and a sine qua non for sustainable development”, state the signatories in the document.
The elimination of all forms of discrimination, harassment and violence, online and offline, with special attention to women and girls in all areas of their lives, were highlighted in the text. The declaration recognizes the importance of strengthening and expanding the coverage of social protection programs and promoting public inclusion policies, especially with respect to the rights of people with disabilities.
Continues after advertising
Climate
The document reinforces the urgency of the fight against climate change and the need to intensify efforts to maintain the increase in the global average temperature at the levels defined in the 2015 Paris Agreement, that is, limit the increase in temperature to 1.5°C above from pre-industrial levels.
Climate financing by developed nations to support developing countries, including loss and damage funding, was emphasized to ensure environmental adaptation, response and recovery measures. “We urge G20 governments and parliaments to identify and implement appropriate and equitable ways to finance fair energy transitions,” the parliamentarians said in the statement.
Fair energy transition, promotion of renewable energy and protection of biodiversity must be supported by parliamentary actions, in addition to the search to ensure integration between economic growth, social inclusion and environmental protection.
Continues after advertising
Global governance
The reform of the United Nations (UN) Security Council, a long-standing demand from Brazil, was included in the final version of the document. As well as changes in other UN bodies and a change in the international financial system to ensure more transparency of financial institutions at all levels and attention to developing countries, with practices such as debt relief, restructuring or cancellation.
The document also calls for reform of the World Trade Organization (WTO), with predictable rules, without discrimination, equitable and capable of promoting sustainable development, with restoration of its dispute settlement system.
The text highlights the concern about the democratic deficit in international relations and calls for greater parliamentary involvement in international commitments as it is the power that is closest to the demands of civil society. “The urgent challenges we have to face require that our parliaments not only remain focused on current issues, but include the ‘future dimension’ on the parliamentary agenda,” the congressmen said in the joint statement.
AI and new technologies
The declaration highlights the use of digital technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI), to address global challenges and the need to address digital inequality between countries. The use of these technologies, according to the text, must have an ethical, transparent and human-centered approach. The topic was the subject of the last P20 meeting in India in 2023.
Signatory countries encourage the development of international standards for the use of new technologies that respect human rights and strengthen trust in the digital economy. Recognizes the potential of AI to widen or reduce the productivity gap between countries and promote sustainable development. The text also mentions the need for all governments and parliaments to promote international humanitarian law, with special attention to the challenges arising from the use of new technologies in armed conflicts.
Female participation
The Alagoas Charter, the final document of the meeting of women parliamentarians in July, was incorporated as an annex to the final text, which recommends maintaining this discussion forum in future P20 meetings. The Final Declaration of the Alagoas Charter brings together eight recommendations in three priority areas:
- climate justice and sustainable development for women and girls;
- expansion of female representation in decision-making spaces;
- combating gender inequalities and promoting women’s economic autonomy.
