Brazil pays BRL 847 mi to international bodies in first half of year

Brazil paid off BRL 847 million in debts to international organizations in the first half of the year, the Ministries of Planning and Budget and Foreign Affairs announced Wednesday (Jul. 3). Of this total, BRL 325 million corresponds to the full settlement of the country’s regular contribution to the United Nations (UN).

This is reported to be the first time in the last decade Brazil pays its contribution to the UN in the first half of the year. The nations that settle their dues in the first six months of the year are included in the body’s honor roll. The UN publicly thanked Brazil on May 17.

“By honoring its contributions to international organizations, Brazil strengthens its role on the global stage, reaffirms its commitment to multilateralism, and reinforces regional integration,” the government’s statement reads.

Last year, Brazil paid BRL 4.6 billion in financial commitments, honoring debts from previous years. The amounts were distributed across regular contributions to international organizations, the payment of multilateral bank quotas, and the recomposition of funds operating in various countries.

The note also mentions the payment to other international agencies that work in priority areas of Brazilian foreign policy, including the Community of Portuguese-Language Countries (CPLP) and the Latin American Faculty of Social Sciences (FLACSO).

As for commitments around environment and climate change, in the first half of the year Brazil paid its contributions to the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, the UN Convention to Combat Desertification, and the Minamata Convention on Mercury.