UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres had harsh words this week when he reiterated his calls for reform of the Security Council, blaming geopolitical divisions and the conduct of major powers for what he described as the body’s “paralysis”.


Responding at a news conference on September 16 to a question about why calls to respect international law have gone unheeded, Guterres pointed to divisions among the world’s major power, as cited by the Turkish Anadolu agency.


“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,” he said.


Guterres said the council’s current composition, which is made up of five permanent members (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States) and ten rotating members, no longer reflects the international order of today.


“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.


He warned that the body’s dysfunction was encouraging countries to act without restraint, arguing that the conduct of major powers was setting a damaging precedent.


“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,” he said.


“And they know that they will do it with impunity because the Security Council, that is the organization that is supposed to maintain peace and security in the world, is paralyzed,” the UN chief added.


Guterres said the underlying issue was ultimately linked to how global power is distributed and exercised.


The UN chief has repeatedly called for changes to the balance of power within the Security Council. In May, he addressed the issue during the expansion of the UN’s Nairobi office.


“We need deeper reforms of... global institutions that reflect the world as it is today, not as it was 80 years ago, and this includes the Security Council, where a historic injustice persists in denying Africa permanent seats,” Guterres told reporters at the time.


By Nazrin Sadigova