Full text of BRICS Summit Brasilia Declaration

Following is the full text of the 11th BRICS Summit Brasilia Declaration released on Thursday:

BRASILIA DECLARATION

11th BRICS Summit

Preamble

1. We, the Leaders of the Federative Republic of Brazil, the Russian Federation, the Republic of India, the People's Republic of China and the Republic of South Africa met on 14 November 2019 in Brasilia, Brazil, at the Eleventh BRICS Summit, which was held under the theme "BRICS: economic growth for an innovative future".

2. As leaders of vibrant nations, we reaffirm our fundamental commitment to the principle of sovereignty, mutual respect and equality and to the shared goal of building a peaceful, stable and prosperous world. These concepts, values and objectives provide a solid foundation and clear guidance for our mutually beneficial and pragmatic cooperation. Building on the work of successive summits in the pillars of economy, peace and security and people-to-people exchanges, we will continue to strengthen BRICS cooperation for the benefit and welfare of our peoples and enhance the traditional ties of friendship amongst our countries.

3. We are pleased with the outcomes of the 2019 BRICS Chairship. We recall the more than one hundred meetings held this year. We welcome the Ministerial and other high-level Meetings held this year in the areas of finance, trade, foreign affairs, national security matters, communications, environment, labor and employment, science, technology and innovation, energy, agriculture, health and culture. We also note the Meeting of New Development Bank Board of Governors.

4. We welcome, among other achievements, the establishment of the Innovation BRICS Network (iBRICS); the adoption of the New Architecture on Science, Technology and Innovation (STI), which will be implemented through the BRICS STI Steering Committee, and the Terms of Reference of the BRICS Energy Research Cooperation Platform. We also welcome the holding of the BRICS Strategies for Countering Terrorism Seminar, the Workshop on Human Milk Banks and the BRICS Meeting on Asset Recovery. We commend the signature of the Memorandum of Understanding among BRICS Trade and Investment Promotion Agencies (TIPAs), and the establishment of the BRICS Women Business Alliance (WBA). We further appreciate the approval of the Collaborative Research Program for Tuberculosis, and other initiatives promoted by the 2019 BRICS Chairship.

Strengthening and reforming the multilateral system

5. We remain committed to multilateralism, cooperation of sovereign States to maintain peace and security, advance sustainable development and ensure the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms for all and build a brighter shared future for the international community. We reaffirm our commitment to helping overcome the significant challenges currently facing multilateralism, as well as upholding the central role of the UN in international affairs and respecting international law, including the Charter of the United Nations, its purposes and principles.

6. We reiterate the urgent need to strengthen and reform the multilateral system, including the UN, the WTO, the IMF and other international organizations, which we will continue working to make more inclusive, democratic and representative, including through greater participation of emerging markets and developing countries in international decision-making. We reiterate our commitment to shaping a more fair, just, equitable and representative multipolar international order. We also underline the imperative that international organizations be fully driven by Member States and promote the interests of all.

7. We recall the 2005 World Summit Outcome document and reaffirm the need for a comprehensive reform of the UN, including its Security Council, with a view to making it more representative, effective, and efficient, and to increase the representation of the developing countries so that it can adequately respond to global challenges. China and Russia reiterate the importance they attach to the status and role of Brazil, India and South Africa in international affairs and support their aspiration to play a greater role in the UN.

8. We express our commitment to sustainable development in its three dimensions - economic, social and environmental - in a balanced and integrated manner. All our citizens, in all parts of our respective territories, including remote areas, deserve to fully enjoy the benefits of sustainable development. International cooperation in this field, as in all others, must respect national sovereignty and domestic legal and institutional frameworks and arrangements, as well as practices and procedures.

9. We reiterate the importance of the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and call for redoubled efforts for its timely implementation. We call on developed countries to fully implement their Official Development Assistance (ODA) commitments and to provide developing countries with additional development resources.

10. We reiterate our commitment to the implementation of the Paris Agreement adopted under the principles of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), including the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances. We urge developed countries included in Annex II to scale up the provision of financial, technological and capacity-building assistance to developing countries to support mitigation and adaptation action. We expect that the first replenishment of the Green Climate Fund (GCF) by the end of 2019 will significantly exceed the initial resource mobilization, ensuring that financial contributions by donors match the ambition, needs and priorities of developing countries. We are also committed to working for the success of UNFCCC COP 25, particularly with regard to achieving a balanced and comprehensive outcome on all remaining items of the Paris Agreement Work Program.

11. We recall the BRICS MOU on Regional Aviation and value the cooperation among BRICS countries in the field of civil aviation. Acknowledging the critical role played by the aviation sector in emerging markets, including in BRICS countries, and considering the potential impacts of the Carbon Offsetting and Reduction Scheme for International Aviation (CORSIA) on the growth of the aviation sector, we reiterate our commitment to work together on the review process of the framework.

12. We are committed to contributing to and supporting the development of the Post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework and to the successful outcome of the 15th Meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, to be held in Kunming, China, in 2020. We will deepen our dialogue and cooperation on the respective positions concerning biodiversity. We expect that the CBD's three objectives are considered in the Framework in a balanced manner, so as to avoid overlooking the often disregarded sustainable use of biological diversity components and Access and Benefit Sharing (ABS) pillars.

13. We are committed to implement the outcomes of COP 14 UNCCD with an aim to achieve SDG 15.3 by 2030 to combat desertification, restore degraded land and soil, and strive to achieve a land degradation-neutral world. We welcome enhancement of South-South Cooperation through the establishment of the Centre for Sustainable Land Restoration by India for capacity building, exchange of database and information regarding the Land Degradation Neutrality Target Setting Programme. We acknowledge the New Delhi Declaration on "Investing in Land and Unlocking Opportunities" and the Ordos Declaration.

14. We express serious concern over persistent threats to international peace and security and commit to work for lasting peace for all, in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations and all applicable international obligations. We reaffirm our commitment to the principles of good-faith, sovereign equality of States, non-intervention in matters within the domestic jurisdiction of any State, and the duty to cooperate, consistently with the Charter of the UN. Implementation of these principles excludes imposition of coercive measures not based on international law.

15. We emphasize the importance of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on their Destruction (BTWC) as a pillar of the international security system. We underline the need to comply with and strengthen the BTWC, including by adopting a Protocol to the Convention that provides for, inter alia, an efficient verification mechanism. We reaffirm that the BTWC is the core instrument for biological and toxin weapons. Its functions, including in what concerns the UN Security Council, should not be duplicated by other mechanisms. Efforts aimed at the resolution of implementation issues should be consistent with the BTWC.

16. We reaffirm support for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) and to the preservation of the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) as an effective disarmament and non-proliferation instrument. We stress the need for the States Parties to the CWC to stand united and be engaged in constructive dialogue with a view to restoring the culture of consensus in the OPCW.

17. We express our serious concern about the possibility of an arms race in outer space and reaffirm the need to carry on activities in the exploration and peaceful uses of outer space in accordance with international law, including the Charter of the United Nations. We emphasize the urgent need to negotiate a legally binding multilateral instrument that could fill the gap in the international legal regime applicable to outer space, including on the prevention of the placement of weapons in outer space. We stress that practical transparency and confidence building measures may also contribute towards this goal. In this connection, we welcome the relevant work carried out by the UN Group of Governmental Experts on the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS) and regret that it was unable to reach consensus on its report. We underscore that any instrument on this matter should be non-discriminatory and contain operative provisions on the right to develop technology for peaceful purposes.

18. We underscore the importance of an open, secure, peaceful, stable, accessible and non-discriminatory environment for information and communications technologies (ICTs). We emphasize the importance of universally agreed norms, rules and principles, under the auspices of the UN, for the responsible behavior of States in the realm of ICTs, and uphold the centrality of the United Nations in their development. In this connection, we welcome the establishment of a UN open-ended working group on this matter, as well as the launch of a new edition of the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE). While supporting both mechanisms, we underline that the dual-track process can provide complementarity and synergies in the international efforts in this matter.

19. We reaffirm our commitment to tackling the misuse of ICTs for criminal and terrorist activities. New challenges and threats in this respect require international cooperation, including through discussions on possible frameworks of cooperation, among which a UN universal binding regulatory instrument on the criminal use of ICTs. We recognize the progress made by the BRICS countries in promoting cooperation through the Working Group on Security in the Use of Information and Communication Technologies (WGSICT), which approved its revised Terms of Reference, and through the BRICS Roadmap of Practical Cooperation on Ensuring Security in the Use of ICTs. Bearing in mind previous BRICS Summits, we reaffirm the importance of establishing legal frameworks of cooperation among BRICS member States on ensuring security in the use of ICTs and acknowledge the work of the WGSICT towards consideration and elaboration of proposals on this matter. We take note of both the proposal by Russia on a BRICS intergovernmental agreement on cooperation on ensuring security in the use of ICTs and of the Brazilian initiative towards bilateral agreements among BRICS countries on the matter.

20. We condemn terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, which should not be associated with any religion, nationality or civilization, and recognize terrorist acts as criminal and unjustifiable, regardless of their motivations whenever, wherever and by whomsoever committed. We urge for concerted efforts to fight against terrorism under UN auspices in accordance with international law, recognize the primary role of States and their competent authorities in preventing and countering terrorism and express our conviction that a comprehensive approach is necessary to ensure effective results in combating terrorism. We recall the responsibility of all States to prevent financing of terrorist networks and terrorist actions, including those from their territories. We also call for an expeditious conclusion and adoption of the Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism within the UN framework. We emphasize the importance of preventing and combating the financing of terrorism, implementing relevant UNSC resolutions and welcome in this regard the adoption of UNSC Resolution 2462 (2019). To address the threat of chemical and biological terrorism, we emphasize the need to launch multilateral negotiations on an international convention for the suppression of acts of chemical and biological terrorism, including at the Conference on Disarmament.

21. We recognize progress made in BRICS cooperation in counter-terrorism and welcome the results of the Fourth Meeting of the BRICS Counter-Terrorism Working Group, including the establishment of thematic sub-working groups and the holding in Brasilia of the Seminar "BRICS Strategies for Countering Terrorism".

22. We reaffirm our commitment to combating illicit financial flows (IFFs) and to closely cooperating within the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and the FATF-style regional bodies (FSRBs), as well as in other multilateral, regional and bilateral fora. We emphasize the importance of upholding and supporting the objectives of the FATF and of intensifying our cooperation to implement and improve FAFT Standards. We value and encourage the dialogue among BRICS countries in key issues of the Anti-Money Laundering/Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) agenda, bearing in mind the proposed institutionalization of the AML/CFT BRICS Council. We underscore the importance of the work of national Financial Intelligence Units (FIUs).