The 12th BRICS Parliamentary Forum ended in New Delhi on 27 October with the unanimous adoption of a Joint Declaration. The two-day meeting was held under the theme "Fostering Parliaments For People-Centric Development" and chaired by Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, who gave the inaugural address on Monday, 26 October. According to Devdiscourse, delegations came from 11 member countries and 10 partner nations. Delegations from Russia, Brazil, Uganda and Cuba were among those arriving. The outcome was not certain in advance. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor said on Monday that he hoped a declaration would be adopted and that efforts to build consensus were under way, and he said parliamentary engagement offers dialogue beyond government-to-government ties, recalling the delegations sent abroad after Operation Sindoor last year. He also recalled that the BRICS summit in September had also produced a declaration unanimously.
The case for the forum begins with the text itself. The reports from All India Radio set out its main points. The declaration condemns all terrorism as criminal and unjustifiable, whatever its motivation, and it strongly condemns the attack of 22 April 2025 in Jammu and Kashmir that killed 26 people. It commits members to act against cross-border movement of terrorists, terror financing and safe havens, and it calls for zero tolerance and the rejection of double standards. It expresses concern over escalating tensions in West Asia and calls for maximum restraint, the protection of civilians and respect for sovereignty. It pledges to keep trade, supply chains and energy flowing under international law, and it states that terrorism should not be linked to any religion, nationality, civilization or ethnic group. It condemns unilateral coercive measures, including secondary sanctions, and calls for reform of global governance, along with stronger climate action under national pledges, with stronger mitigation, adaptation and just transition pathways. It also highlights the Global South's voice in BRICS, including through development cooperation and capacity-building. For India, getting such language from the member countries in its own Parliament is a diplomatic gain.
The argument against rests on what a parliamentary declaration can do. The document is not binding on any government, and the forum is made up of legislators who do not conduct foreign policy. As reported, the declaration's language on West Asia calls for restraint without naming any party to the conflict. The member countries named by All India Radio are Brazil, China, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iran, Russia, South Africa and the UAE, and their interests diverge in many areas, so language that all of them can sign tends to be general. A critic can fairly ask how much a text reached by consensus will change what governments do when terrorism, sanctions or the war in West Asia reach their agendas.
The forum matters for what it says about India's role. New Delhi hosted the 18th BRICS summit in September, and the parliamentary meeting extends that role from governments to legislatures. Condemnation of unilateral sanctions speaks to the economic pressure many members face, and members also thanked India's Parliament and people for hosting. The terrorism language carries weight in India's long campaign for international backing against cross-border attacks. According to Devdiscourse, the summit declaration also stressed dialogue, diplomacy and the peaceful settlement of disputes, and raised concern about unilateral trade measures, so the parliamentary text carries forward the same themes. The forum also gives India's Parliament a leading role among the Global South's legislatures.
The declaration is a statement of intent rather than a policy, and its worth will be judged by how members act when terrorism or sanctions become live issues. As a diplomatic result for a host that could not be sure of a text, it is a solid one.
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