'Powers That Violate International Law Sit In Security Council': Guterres Calls For Urgent UN Reforms

· Free Press Journal

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for urgent reform of the Security Council, saying global powers that themselves violate international law are members of the body and that geopolitical divisions have contributed to its paralysis.

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Guterres also called for a “redistribution of power”, arguing that international institutions must reflect the changing global order rather than power structures established decades ago.

“Well, let’s be clear. We have geopolitical divides, and in these geopolitical divides, we have powers that themselves violate international law and sit in the Security Council. And that has been paralysing the Security Council, as we know,” Guterres told reporters on Wednesday.

“That is why the reform of the Security Council must be an absolute priority. It is unacceptable to have a Security Council with a composition that reflects the world of many decades ago instead of reflecting today’s world.”

“And that is a factor of paralysis,” he said at a press conference at the UN headquarters ahead of the high-level week of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly.

‘Impunity’ Fuelling Violations Of International Law

Guterres said the Security Council’s paralysis had created an environment in which countries increasingly believed they could act without consequences.

He said “because the example coming from the biggest powers is not a good example, every country around the world feels that they are entitled to do whatever they want.”

“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.”

“That impunity has created this environment in which we see more and more countries violating international law”, international humanitarian law and human rights law, and “doing it in total impunity.”

“And let’s be clear. The question is a question of power. And the question is that the way power is distributed and power is used in our world does not allow multilateral institutions to act effectively,” Guterres said.

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Guterres Calls For ‘Redistribution Of Power’

Asked whether groupings such as BRICS could supplement existing global organisations or emerge as alternatives amid shifting power equations, Guterres said current institutions largely reflected the balance of power that existed decades ago, particularly at the end of World War II.

“But the world is changing, and we are seeing the emergence of new powers. And today, if one looks at the global economy, every single day the percentage of developed countries in global GDP diminishes a little bit and every single day the percentage of emerging economies in the global GDP increases a little bit.”

He said the relative weight of countries had changed significantly since many global institutions were established.

“So, the power relations no longer correspond to the realities of the world. There must be a redistribution of power.”

“And one thing that is essential in this redistribution of power is the reform of multilateral institutions. And if there are two multilateral institutions where this reform is essential, it’s the Security Council and the Bretton Woods system,” Guterres said.

The Bretton Woods system emerged from the 1944 agreement that established a new international monetary framework under which currencies were linked to the US dollar.

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Final High-Level UNGA Week For Guterres

The General Debate of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly will begin on September 22, bringing Heads of State and Government, Foreign Ministers and other representatives from across the world to the UN headquarters in New York.

The high-level gathering will be Guterres’ final one as UN Secretary-General before his second five-year term ends in December 2026.

Asked about the key lesson from his decade at the helm of the United Nations, Guterres said, “The lesson that I would take away is that when we have a world that is becoming more and more multipolar, it is essential to reform the multilateral institutions to be able to make those institutions effective in relation to the promotion of peace, development, and human rights that are the three pillars of the UN.”

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