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NEW YORK CITY: The UN’s secretary-general, Antonio Guterres, warned on Friday that the Security Council’s “legitimacy is fragile.”
He urged member states to recommit to the founding principles of the UN Charter and take urgent action to reform the council so that it better reflects the geopolitical realities of today.
“Too often, we have seen members of this body act outside the principles of the Charter, principles we have all freely agreed to as sovereign nations,” Guterres said.
“When that happens, it not only stalls action in the moment, it erodes trust in the entire United Nations project. It also puts us all in great danger.”
Speaking from Hanoi, he was addressing a Security Council open debate convened by Russia, which holds the rotating presidency of the council this month, to mark the 80th anniversary of the UN. It was titled “The United Nations Organization: Looking Into the Future.”
The council remains a “vital necessity and a powerful force for good,” Guterres said. He credited it with helping to end apartheid in South Africa, restore peace in post-genocide Cambodia, and prevent a major-power war for eight decades.
But he cautioned that there was now a risk that these achievements would be undermined by paralysis, geopolitical rivalries and a lack of representativeness.
Reform of the Security Council, Guterres said, is “imperative and long overdue.”
He called for an expansion of its membership, noting that nearly half of all UN peacekeeping missions are deployed in Africa, yet the continent still lacks a permanent seat on the council. Latin America and the Caribbean also remain underrepresented, while the Asia-Pacific region, home to more than half of the world’s population, has only one permanent seat.
“Expanding the membership is not only about justice, it is also about results,” he said. “It has the potential to undo deadlocks and offer stability in our increasingly multipolar world.”
Guterres welcomed proposals by France and the UK to voluntarily limit the use of the power of veto held by them and the other permanent members of the council (Russia, China and the US). Such a measure has long been debated as a way to ensure the council can be more responsive to crises, including conflicts such as those in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan.
“The Security Council is not about hegemons and empires,” he said. “It is about parents who have lost their children, refugees flung far from their homes, soldiers who have sacrificed their limbs.”
Calling for a renewed moral purpose and greater inclusivity, Guterres added: “The time has come to open the doors of the chamber and let in the light. Without a Security Council fit for purpose, the world is in grave danger.”

ASHGABAT: Turkmenistan renewed its call Friday for the creation of a pipeline linking its vast gas fields to Europe, a long-mooted project that would require significant foreign investment.
The idea of a Trans-Caspian gas pipeline to Europe has been discussed since the 1990s but has been hindered by financial and logistical hurdles.
“We’re always interested in diversifying export routes, including the Trans-Caspian route to Europe,” the chair of state-owned gas company Turkmengaz, Maksat Babayev, told AFP.
Turkmenistan sends most of its gas exports to China, but it is increasingly courting interest from European countries looking to end their dependence on Russia over the war in Ukraine.
The former Soviet republic is one of the five largest holders of natural gas reserves in the world.
The pipeline, which would run under the Caspian Sea to an existing terminal in Azerbaijan, has faced opposition from Russia as well as questions over its financial viability.