A panel organized by Turkey’s Directorate of Communications in Italy’s capital Rome highlighted the inefficiency of global organizations and the global community in the face of ongoing crises around the world.
The panel, titled “A New Approach to United Nations Security Council Reform: A New Approach to Reconstructing the International Order,” which took place on April 25-26, emphasized the need for a reform of the Security Council to ensure that the global body has a fairer, more democratic and more representative structure, a statement by the Directorate of Communications said.
Turkey’s Ambassador to Rome Ömer Gücük, Turkey’s Ambassador to the Vatican Lütfullah Göktaş, Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Rome representative Mustafa Davulcu, as well as Italy’s former Ambassador to Turkey Carlo Marsili and academics from Italian and Turkish universities attended the two-day panel.
Touching upon a number of issues in the Security Council, including permanent membership, veto rights and lack of representation, panelists also discussed Turkey and Italy’s suggestions to reform the global body.
The moderator of the panel, Dr. Kılıç Buğra Kanat noted that the Russia-Ukraine war has once again shown the inefficiency of the U.N. system.
Meanwhile, Marsili noted that the U.N. has been unsuccessful in preventing disasters since the Korea War in 1950. He said that Italy had previously called for increasing the number of permanent members of the Security Council and that a 60-member Security Council would be fairer. He continued by saying that a structure without the veto rights of the permanent members would create a more democratic representation structure.
In response to what arguments would be used to convince the five members on the matter, Marsili said it was an extremely “tough call.”
Professor Aylin Ünver Noi noted that there has been a global crisis amid the ongoing pandemic, climate crisis and conflicts around the world. She noted that some revisions need to be made to the U.N. Treaty, but the revisions require the approval of permanent council members.
Another professor, Guiseppe Nesi from Trento University, said the debate on the council's reform has existed for over three decades, but some countries refuse to accept reform due to their interests.
Turkey in recent years has repeatedly criticized the lack of representation at the U.N., saying that such an unjust system is no longer sustainable.
In order to make the U.N. system active again, the council must be reformed, Ankara has repeatedly highlighted.
