By Esra Tekin and Serdar Dincel
ISTANBUL (AA) - Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday urged a major overhaul of the United Nations, stressing that nearly 200 countries worldwide cannot be left up to the five permanent members of the Security Council.
“The UN needs to be completely reformed. The world cannot be left to the mercy of the five permanent (Security Council member) countries. The fate of 194 countries cannot be left in the hands or the lips of one of these five permanent members,” Erdogan said in an address to the TRT World Forum in Istanbul.
Erdogan has long denounced the five permanent Security Council member system – under which those countries can single-handedly veto important decisions – saying: “The world is bigger than five.”
“The Russia-Ukraine war, set soon to start its fourth year, has shown us the weakness of the rules-based international system,” he added.
In Gaza, not only humanitarian values but also reliability of the global system, the UN, have been tested, Erdogan said, adding that neither passed the test.
“Humanitarian catastrophe was allowed due to the shame of the Holocaust, but this is a dead-end street, disaster,” Erdogan said, referring to how Western countries’ Holocaust guilt made them shrink from criticizing Israel, which has been committing genocide in Gaza for over a year now.
“Can we say, 'It's none of our business' in the face of Israeli aggression endangering not only its own citizens but everyone living in the region?" he asked.
“When there is peace, when we can live together in peace, why this blood, conflict, war? If we don't act today, when will we act?” he implored.
The pain of those oppressed in Gaza, Palestine, and Lebanon is ours, said the Turkish leader, adding that “consent to oppression is oppression,” referring to backers of Israel’s genocide and oppressive policies.
Türkiye is doing what it does for sake of peace, justice, and for the safety of the entire region, he added.
Throughout history, the Turkish nation has always opened “its doors wide” to anyone who has faced oppression, whether Jewish or Christian, he added.
The TRT World Forum, organized by Turkish national broadcaster TRT, is set to conclude on Saturday.