Türkiye's Communications Directorate holds panel in New York on UN Security Council reform

By Ahmet Gencturk

ANKARA (AA) - Türkiye's Communications Directorate on Friday organized a panel in New York to highlight the necessity of reform in the UN Security Council.

The discussion was moderated by Bugra Kanat, the Washington director of the Ankara-based Political, Economic and Social Research Foundation (SETA), at the Turkevi Center, also known as Turkish House, in New York City.

Richard Gowan, the International Crisis Group’s UN Director, aptly argued that the UN Security Council failed in devising proper response to Russia's war on Ukraine, which began in February.

This shows that none of the five permanent members – the US, UK, France, China and Russia – want radical reforms in the structure of the UNSC, he said.

Francisco Gutierrez, the undersecretary of Colombia’s permanent representative to the UN, remarked that reform of the UNSC is inevitable to remain relevant and efficient in the contemporary world.

Ian Martin, the former UN special representative to Libya, asserted that the veto right of the five permanent members is a particularly problematic issue, adding that this right should be limited.

Jean-Marie Guehenno, a senior expert at the Columbia University, praised the Turkish initiatives that advocate reform in the UN.

“Now, the question is not whether the reform is needed or not, but how it will be done,” he said.

Vasselin Popovski from Japan’s Soka University stressed that Türkiye would play the leading role in the reform of the Security Council.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been questioning the unfair order, which gives a few leaders unchecked power, for many years, saying: "The world is bigger than five."