Underlining the growing importance of Africa, the BRICS Fortaleza Declaration, which emerged from the sixth BRICS summit in Brazil, focused on the role of international efforts in the continent to bring peace and stability. It also registered joint BRICS’ position on human rights violations, sustainable economic growth and the scourge of terrorism in the African continent, as exemplified by the rise of radical pan-Islamist militant outfit Boko Haram.
The year 2014 will also be remembered as the year when the BRICS countries — a group of diverse and emerging economies — took its first concrete steps towards establishing itself as the leader of the developing world.
According to experts, as a grouping of regional powers, BRICS is in a unique position to influence political and economic structures in the developing world. The absence of a ‘colonial hangover’ affords BRICS a unique position and legitimacy that western powers lack.
While the Declaration lauded the efforts of the African Union and the United Nations in the African continent, it also emphasised the need for indigenous solutions to local problems. It urged countries to be more inclusive in their political processes and stressed the urgency of political, economic and social development.
The BRICS Declaration also commended the UN and the African Union for their efforts relating to the legislative and presidential elections in Guinea Bissau and Madagascar, and for promoting long-term political stability, democracy and prosperity in the two nations. International organisations were also appreciated for their work in Mali, South Sudan, the Central African Republic, and Democratic Republic of the Congo.
Several leaders of the BRICS nations, including India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, have been vocal about the need for joint efforts in combating the scourge of terrorism. This resolve was reiterated in the Declaration, through the condemnation of Boko Haram, the fundamentalist group responsible for the kidnapping of school-girls in Nigeria.
“We express our concern for the plight of the abducted women and children of Chibok and call for an end to the continued terrorist acts perpetrated by Boko Haram,” the Declaration said.
Urging the leaders of South Sudan, who recently signed the ‘Agreement to Resolve the Crisis in South Sudan’ on May 9, to remain committed to the negotiation process and complete the dialogue on the formation of a transitional government of national unity, the Declaration spoke of the need for national reconciliation in the world’s youngest country .
The Declaration maintained a balance between the need for international intervention, while calling for regional and inclusive solutions to Africa’s economic and political problems.
The African agenda has emerged as an important facet of the emerging BRICS’ role as a voice of moderation and diplomacy-based solutions in international affairs. At the last summit in Durban, the BRICS leaders held an outreach meeting with the leaders of several African countries. This time around, the BRICS held a separate meeting with the leaders of South American countries in Brasilia.
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