Türkiye's Communications Directorate on Thursday held the sixth panel in a series focused on United Nations Security Council reforms in the Swedish capital Stockholm.
The U.N. Security Council is in urgent need of reform to safeguard international security and peace, provide solutions to global conflicts and save lives, a panel of academics and scholars stressed in discussions. Organized by Türkiye's Directorate of Communications and titled "United Nations Security Council Reform: A New Approach to Reconstructing the International Order," the conference heard speeches from a variety of senior scholars and academics well-versed in international relations who all see the need for the reform of global governance.
Emphasizing that public criticism of the U.N. should not be avoided, one Stockholm University academic argued that it would be "a good idea to increase the U.N. Security Council's accountability to the General Assembly."
Also speaking at the panel, journalist-analyst Klaus Jurgens criticized "elitism and arrogance" in international organizations, including the United Nations and the European Union.
Another attendee, Zeynep Oktav, a professor of international relations at Medeniyet University in Istanbul, said that the mantra, "the world is bigger than five," often repeated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is a call to reform the 15-seat council to make it more representative, accountable and transparent.
In addition, it has been argued that the council exists to safeguard not the interests of the international community and global security but the interests of powerful individual states who maintain sway and influence due to their highly advanced economies and their possession of nuclear arsenals.
The hypocrisy and double standards of the U.N. have been repeatedly pointed out, with many comparing the hyped-up international reaction to Russia's attack on Ukraine to the silence over and neglect of other non-European conflicts and atrocities such as the indiscriminate attacks by Israeli forces on the occupied Gaza Strip. The panelists blamed this on the imbalance of power in the Security Council.
Türkiye has been at the forefront in calling for such changes. These include introducing term limits to the membership of the five permanent members of the council, just like non-permanent members, and removing their veto power, which has prevented the U.N. from carrying out much-needed assistance throughout the world.
