United Nations: Decrying the paralysis of the Security Council mired in an irrelevant past, United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that its reform must be “an absolute priority”.
He said at a news conference here that one of the factors behind the Council’s paralysis in the face of burning crises is its outdated structure.
“It is unacceptable to have a Security Council with a composition that reflects the world that existed many decades ago, instead of reflecting today’s world, and that is a factor of paralysis”, he said.
The Council, which is the UN’s highest decision-making body, was created in 1945, giving the victors of World War II permanent seats with veto powers.
The world has since changed dramatically with the emergence of the Global South in the waves of post-war independence, and they now dominate the UN’s membership.
Some, like India, as well as other countries in Asia and Europe, tower over some of the permanent members in economic and political terms, while shut out of the power equation at the Security Council.
Besides expanding the Security Council, there have also been calls to reform the veto powers to prevent permanent members from exercising them on issues concerning them or when potential crimes against humanity or humanitarian crises are involved.
Reinforcing his case for prioritising the Security Council reform, Guterres said that the conduct of the permanent members has created an “environment of impunity” that makes other nations defy international laws.
The “geopolitical divides” have paralysed the Security Council, and “we have powers that themselves violate international law and sit in the Security Council” that is “supposed to maintain peace and security in the world”, he said.
“The example coming from the biggest powers is not a good example (and) every country around the world feels that they are entitled to do whatever they want,” he said.
“And they know that they will do it with impunity because the Security Council, that is the organisation that is supposed to maintain peace and security in the world, is paralysed,” he said.
“That impunity has created this environment in which we see more and more countries violating international law, more and more countries violating international humanitarian law, more and more countries violating human rights law, and doing it in total impunity,” he said.
(IANS)
