President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, author of “A Fairer World Is Possible,” took his oft-repeated call to the heart of the United Nations this week. Addressing the U.N. General Assembly on Tuesday, the Turkish leader urged the international community to reconsider a change in the structure of the United Nations, particularly the United Nations Security Council.
“The world is bigger than five,” Erdoğan said once again, uttering his famous motto, in his lengthy speech. This time, however, his remarks found more supporters, including U.S. President Joe Biden and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who voiced similar concerns about inequality in the international institutions.
Referring to an earlier speech by U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, which said institutions established after World War II did not reflect today’s world, Erdoğan said the Security Council was no longer the guarantor of international security and has become a battleground where the political strategies of five countries clash.
Under the leadership of Erdoğan, Türkiye raised its profile in international affairs and Erdoğan seeks to use this newfound clout to push his agenda for peaceful resolution to conflicts affecting the world. A beloved figure in countries ignored or exploited by superpowers, in the Islamic world, Asia, Africa and elsewhere, Erdoğan repeatedly calls for those countries to have their say in international affairs as well.
Erdoğan gave examples of the conflicts in the world and how they affected nations the world over, citing the terrorism threat from Türkiye’s southern neighbor Syria, where the PKK/YPG maintains hideouts, as well as the obstacles the Black Sea grain deal hit.
“In such a world, no one is safe, whether they live right next to a conflict zone or far away on a land surrounded by oceans. That is why we argue that we must rapidly restructure the institutions responsible for ensuring security, peace and prosperity in the world, under the leadership of the United Nations. We must build a global governance architecture, which has the capacity to represent people of all origins, faiths and cultures in the world, from every geography and demographic,” Erdoğan said.
Similarly, Biden said that the United States (one of the members of the Security Council) would continue to push Security Council reforms amid ongoing “gridlock” that has prevented the body from performing its core duties.
Biden told the General Assembly that his administration "has undertaken serious consultation with many member states" about expanding the council and said Washington will "continue to do our part to push reform efforts forward."
"We need to be able to break the gridlock that too often stymies progress and blocks consensus on the council. We need more voices, more perspectives at the table," he said. "The United Nations must continue to preserve peace, prevent conflict and alleviate human suffering. And we embrace nations stepping up to lead in new ways, to seek new breakthroughs on hard issues," Biden added.
"The United States is working across the board to make global institutions more responsive, more effective and more inclusive," he said.
Scholz also called for the reform in his General Assembly speech, to include more influence from Africa, Asia and Latin America. In the multipolar world of the 21st century, he said, there was no longer room for revisionism and imperialism. Scholz advocated a reform of the U.N. Security Council. The U.N. does not sufficiently reflect the reality of a multipolar world, he said. "Nowhere is this more evident than in the composition of the Security Council." It is clear that Africa, Asia and Latin America deserve more weight in the body. "Under this premise, we can negotiate a text with various options. No country should block the results of the negotiations with excessive demands. And we won't do that," the chancellor stressed.
The Security Council is the most important body of the United Nations and is responsible for conflict resolution and peacekeeping. It comprises 15 of the 193 U.N. member states. Five nuclear powers are permanent members and have the right to veto all decisions: the U.S., China, Russia, Britain and France. Some of the other 188 member states alternate in the other 10 seats every two years.
For years, the body has been considered largely incapable of action due to mutual blockades by the U.S., China and Russia on central issues. A fundamental reform of the Security Council has been discussed for decades without any progress.
Portugal's president said in his speech that without reforms to the United Nations and world financial institutions, goals related to peace and sustainable development will remain out of reach.
"We are lagging behind," said Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa said. "We urgently need to reform institutions, many of which formed in the first half of the last century." For instance, he said the concept of security "responds to a world that no longer exists," and called for reforms to the U.N. Security Council. He said countries like Brazil and India should become permanent members, breaking with the current system of five permanent members. He also argued that the current financial institutions "are incapable of financing sustainable development with equity and justice" because rich nations get preference over poorer ones. "We need a new Bretton Woods system," he said, referring to the 1944 agreement that established the rules for commercial relations among dozens of countries, and famously led to the formation of the IMF and World Bank.
