New centers of power, sovereign equality and Western coercion: What’s in the BRICS Kazan Declaration

The BRICS nations approved a joint communique on Wednesday during the group’s three-day summit in the Russian city of Kazan. The document addresses multiple global crises and challenges and calls for a fairer and more just international order.

New centers of power

The group reaffirmed its commitment to promoting a multipolar world order where all nations have an equal say in global affairs. This is reflected in the declaration’s call for greater representation of emerging and developing countries in international institutions.

“We note the emergence of new centers of power, policy decision-making, and economic growth, which can pave the way for a more equitable, just, democratic, and balanced multipolar world order,” the document stated, adding that this system would be more beneficial to developing countries than the current Western-led international order.

The BRICS countries welcomed the growing influence of regional organizations such as the African Union and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO). These organizations are viewed as important platforms for promoting economic cooperation, security, and cultural exchange among their member states. The declaration also called for a strengthened World Trade Organization to resolve trade disputes and an expanded UN Security Council to provide greater representation for the Global South.

Sovereign equality and new BRICS partners

The group emphasized that all countries have the right to pursue their own development paths and make decisions about their internal affairs without interference from other states.

“We reaffirm our commitment to the BRICS spirit of mutual respect and understanding, sovereign equality, solidarity, democracy, openness, inclusiveness, collaboration, and consensus,” the group wrote.

The group noted the “considerable interest” expressed by countries in the Global South to work with, if not join, the bloc, and thus endorsed the modalities for a new BRICS ‘Partner Country’ category.

“We strongly believe that extending the BRICS partnership with EMDCs emerging market and developing countries will further contribute to strengthening the spirit of solidarity and true international cooperation for the benefit of all,” it stated.

The current BRICS members are Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa, Ethiopia, Egypt, Iran, and the United Arab Emirates. Saudi Arabia has yet to ratify its membership invitation. With nearly three dozen countries expressing interest in joining the economic bloc, Moscow considers establishing a BRICS partner category the best option for potential expansion.

Opposing Western coercive measures

The declaration condemns all sanctions and unilateral coercive measures as incompatible with international law, highlighting their far-reaching implications for human rights.

“We are deeply concerned about the disruptive effects of unlawful unilateral coercive measures, including illegal sanctions, on the world economy, international trade, and the achievement of sustainable development goals,” the declaration states, noting that economic sanctions disproportionately affect the poor and vulnerable in targeted countries.

The group also condemns “unilateral measures introduced under the pretext of climate and environmental concerns” and opposes “unilateral protectionist measures that deliberately disrupt global supply and production chains and distort competition.”

“Acknowledging the role of BRICS members as the world’s largest producers of natural resources, we underscore the importance of strengthening cooperation among BRICS members across the entire value chain and agree to take joint actions to oppose unilateral protectionist measures,” the group declared.

Non-discriminatory trade in local currencies

“We recognize the widespread benefits of faster, lower-cost, more efficient, transparent, safe, and inclusive cross-border payment instruments based on minimizing trade barriers and ensuring non-discriminatory access,” the document states, likely referring to Russia’s exclusion from the Western SWIFT payment system following the outbreak of the Ukraine conflict.

“We welcome the use of local currencies in financial transactions between BRICS countries and their trading partners,” it continues, calling for the establishment of a BRICS Cross-Border Payments Initiative. The document also supports the BRICS New Development Bank’s financing projects in local currencies and its growth into a “premier multilateral development institution.”

In a speech at the summit on Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that using local currencies instead of the dollar or euro “helps keep economic development free from politics as far as possible in today’s world.”

The Middle East

The BRICS Declaration highlights the importance of promoting global security through diplomacy, mediation, and inclusive dialogue. While acknowledging the “need to respect the legitimate and reasonable security concerns of all countries,” the group stressed the “need to engage in conflict prevention efforts, including through addressing their root causes.”

“We reiterate our grave concern at the deterioration of the situation and humanitarian crisis in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in particular the unprecedented escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip and in West Bank as a result of the Israeli military offensive,” the declaration reads, noting that the Israeli operation has “led to mass killing and injury of civilians, forced displacement and widespread destruction of civilian infrastructure.”

It calls on Hamas to immediately release its Israeli hostages, and Israel to immediately halt military operations and withdraw from Gaza. Israel’s bombing and ground invasion of Lebanon are also condemned, while its sabotage of thousands of Hezbollah communication devices in September is described as a “terrorist attack.”

The document condemns the “illegal foreign military presence” in Syria, a reference to the roughly 800 US troops still in the country against Damascus’ wishes, and denounces Israel’s bombing of an Iranian consulate in the Syrian capital, which killed Iranian Brigadier General Mohammad Reza Zahedi and eight other Iranian military officers.

Ukraine

As the BRICS nations have adopted a policy of neutrality regarding the Russia-Ukraine conflict, the declaration did not commit the group to backing either side. Instead, it stressed that “all states should act consistently with the Purposes and Principles of the UN Charter” and acknowledged “relevant proposals for mediation and good offices aimed at a peaceful resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy.”

This language is similar to a declaration released last month by Brazil, China, and a dozen other members of the ‘Friends of Peace’ group, which called for a “comprehensive and lasting settlement” to the conflict. Kiev, however, has rejected all peace proposals but its own, which demands that Russia pay reparations, restore Ukraine’s 1991 borders, and hand over its officials to face war crimes tribunals – demands dismissed by Moscow as delusional.

The Kazan Summit Declaration paid little attention to the Ukraine crisis, as it is not the central issue for the economic bloc, according to Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov. “Yes, this is an important issue on the Russian agenda, but it is far from being the central issue for BRICS. And it was reflected exactly as much as it is supposed to be on the BRICS agenda,” Peskov said.