ANKARA: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for urgent reform of the United Nations Security Council.
In a letter to UN Secretary-General António Guterres, Erdogan highlighted the need for radical changes to the Council’s structure, arguing that it fails to adequately address global peace and security issues Turkish media reported.
“As Turkiye, we will continue supporting all those who genuinely strive for a fair international system and advocate for reforming the UN Security Council to better reflect contemporary conditions. The African continent should also be given a role in this just system. We will persist in saying that ‘the world is bigger than five,'” Erdogan stated.
Erdogan’s remarks are directed at the five permanent members of the UN Security Council—Russia, the US, China, the UK, and France—who possess veto power that allows them to block any resolution.
The current structure has proven inadequate, especially as the UN Security Council has struggled to address major conflicts, such as the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, which has lasted over 900 days, resulting in widespread devastation and a massive refugee crisis.
The Council has similarly failed to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict or address the recent escalation between Iran and Israel. Its inability to influence the situation in Gaza or prevent further violence underscores its limitations. The Security Council has also been ineffective in addressing other global conflicts, such as the Transnistrian dispute and the Russia-Georgia war in 2008.
Furthermore, it has not enforced its own resolutions regarding the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict, despite the involvement of three of its permanent members as co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group.
Azerbaijan’s President Ilham Aliyev echoed Erdogan’s concerns at the June ministerial meeting of the Non-Aligned Movement’s Coordinating Bureau. He called for expanding the Security Council to make it more representative and geographically equitable. Aliyev proposed that one permanent seat be allocated to the Non-Aligned Movement, with rotating seats and veto rights given to countries holding the chair of the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, and the African Union.
This stance reflects a growing consensus on the need for Security Council reform, emphasizing that the current system, dominated by five permanent members, no longer represents the global reality.
