During a meeting of foreign ministers from the Brics nations in South Africa, a collective call was made to rebalance the global order, shifting away from Western nations. The objective of the Brics group, comprising Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, is to provide global leadership in a world marred by geopolitical tensions, inequality, and global insecurity.
However, the talks were overshadowed by allegations of Russian war crimes in Ukraine. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin in relation to these allegations. South Africa, as a member of the ICC, would be obliged to arrest him if he attends the Brics summit scheduled for Johannesburg in August.
Brics is sometimes seen as an alternative to the G7 group of developed nations, which recently held its annual summit in Hiroshima, Japan, where leaders from Brazil and India also participated. G7 members have been openly critical of Russia and China.
The Brics countries together represent more than 3.2 billion people, accounting for approximately 40% of the world’s population of around 8 billion.
During the talks in Cape Town, the Indian Minister of External Affairs, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, emphasized the need to convey a strong message that the world is becoming multipolar, necessitating a rebalancing approach that acknowledges that old methods are insufficient to address new challenges. He attributed the core problem to economic concentration, which leaves many nations vulnerable and dependent on a select few.
The Brazilian Foreign Minister, Mauro Vieira, highlighted the Brics group as an essential mechanism for establishing a multipolar world order that considers the perspectives and requirements of developing countries.
The Chinese Vice Foreign Minister, Ma Zhaoxu, proposed expanding the Brics group to provide assistance to developing countries and emerging market economies.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov revealed that over a dozen countries, including Saudi Arabia, have expressed interest in joining the group. However, his presence at the event was met with protests, with demonstrators holding pictures of Lavrov accompanied by the words “child murderer.” A protester cited the ICC case against Putin, referring to systemic war crimes against Ukrainian children and expressing concern over South African officials shaking hands with individuals involved in such acts.