UNSC became ‘battleground’ for five permanent members’ political strategies: Erdogan

NEW YORK: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday said the UN Security Council no longer works to ensure global security but instead is an arena for its five permanent member states to engage in strategic confrontations.

“The Security Council is no longer the guarantor of international security and has become a battleground where the political strategies of five countries clash,” said the president. Addressing the annual UN General Assembly in New York, Erdogan added that Turkiye considers recent events in Northern Cyprus – in which UN peacekeepers tried to block the building of a vital connecting road – a “manifestation of this empty institutional structure that provides neither justice nor trust.”

“We must immediately restructure institutions under the UN roof responsible for ensuring world peace, security, and welfare,” Erdogan said. “We must build a global governance architecture that is capable of representing all origins, beliefs and cultures in the world,” he added.

During his speech, Erdogan once again reiterated his oft-repeated slogan for UN reform, “The world is bigger than five,” referring to the unrepresentative nature of the UN Security Council’s five permanent, veto-wielding members.

The effectiveness of the Security Council has been questioned in the face of recent crises, especially after Russian launched its war against Ukraine nearly 19 months ago. Russia, one of the five permanent Security Council members, is accused of using its veto power to block resolutions related to Ukraine.