UN has ‘stopped working’: Brazil’s Lula

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Brazils President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva (pictured) was speaking after meeting Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim in Kuala Lumpur on Oct 25.

PHOTO: AFP

KUALA LUMPUR – Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva took a swipe at the United Nations on Oct 25 and other multilateral institutions, saying they “stopped working” and failed to protect Gaza’s war victims.

Mr Lula was speaking after meeting Malaysia’s Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, ahead of a major regional summit where the Brazilian leader would likely meet US President Donald Trump.

“Who can accept the genocide that has been going on in the Gaza Strip for so long?” Mr Lula told reporters after the bilateral meeting to deepen ties between the two nations.

“The multilateral institutions that were created to try to prevent these things from happening have stopped working. Today, the UN Security Council and the UN no longer function,” Mr Lula said.

Mr Lula also appeared to take a swipe at Mr Trump, saying “for a leader, walking with their head held high is more important than a Nobel Prize”.

Mr Trump departed Washington on Oct 24 for Asia and high-stakes talks with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in South Korea on Oct 30, the last day of his trip.

But first, the US president is expected to witness the signing of a peace deal between Thailand and Cambodia on Oct 26, which he – in part – helped to broker.

The White House lashed out at the Norwegian Nobel Committee in October after it awarded the peace prize to Venezuelan