Ukraine: The UN system “sclerotic,” needs reform, says EU chief
Virendra Pandit
New Delhi: After many countries voiced their concern over the lopsidedness in running the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), the European Union chief has also said the UN system has become ‘sclerotic” and needs reforms at the earliest.
He cited the UNSC’s helplessness in taking Russia to task after it invaded Ukraine in February 2022.
“For the last 19 months, a Permanent Member of the Security Council, Russia, without any shame, has been undertaking a war to conquer its neighboring country.
“It can abuse its veto rights to prevent sanctions against itself, and even use the Security Council to disseminate propaganda, disinformation, and lies — let’s be honest,” said EU President Charles Michel.
Participating in the General Debate at the 78th UN General Assembly in New York on Thursday, he also backed growing calls for the veto powers granted to the five permanent members of the UN Security Council — the US, Russia, France, the UK, and China — to be limited under emergency conditions, and to broaden the body’s global representation, the media reported.
“We must assume our responsibility and that means being engaged in order to put multilateralism back on solid ground,” he said. “To that end, we need to restore trust, solve the most urgent problems, and repair the United Nations system.
Michel reaffirmed the “unwavering” support of the EU for Ukraine in the war with Russia and the country’s “right to legitimate defense.”
He criticized the lack of proper global representation within the UNSC, which he said continues to reflect outdated power structures and this “hobbled” its ability to act in the best interests of the world as a whole, especially given some countries were “still colonial powers.”
He added: “The planet is falling. The world is being torn asunder by poverty and injustice, entire swaths of the world — Africa, South America, the Caribbean, and Asia — are under or non-represented (on the UNSC). We support the comprehensive, massive reform of the Security Council to amplify the voice of these regions.”
Michel also reiterated his previous call for a global treaty on pandemic prevention and preparedness.
Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, he and the head of the World Health Organization, Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, have led the push for negotiations on a treaty of this kind within the UN framework, urging the international community to reach a consensus on the topic by May next year.
