UN fails to find solutions for humanitarian crises, Altun says
The United Nations headquarters is seen in New York City, U.S., Aug. 1, 2022. (AFP File Photo)


A reform of the United Nations is necessary to respond to global challenges, as its current structure fails to address ongoing humanitarian crises, Presidential Communications Director Fahrettin Altun said Tuesday.

"The U.N. failed to develop concrete solutions to prevent the great humanitarian disasters, particularly in the post-Cold War period, and unfortunately, it could not play an effective role in sustaining peace and security," Altun said.

Sending a video message to address a panel in Paris – The United Nations Security Council Reform: A New Approach to Reconstructing the International Order – Altun said the U.N. was "desperate" to prevent the human tragedies in the past in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Rwanda, Syria and Kosovo.

He added that the organization has recently displayed a similar example of "desperation" during Russia's attacks on Ukraine.

"We are all aware that the United Nations, which was founded to safeguard peace and security, is incapable of meeting the international community's expectations in this regard. In the face of the developments in world politics and the change in power balances in the last 30 years, the organization is no longer able to fulfill its stabilizing function," he noted.

Altun said the U.N.'s inability to play an effective and consistent role in the face of threats to global peace and stability undermines its credibility and prestige in the eyes of the international community.

"We have seen time and again that the United Nations, in its current form, adds deadlock to global issues rather than solutions. We have seen how the processes can be blocked when one of the warring parties or one of the parties to the crisis is a permanent member of the U.N.

"United Nations, with this structure, is not on the side of the weak, the victim, or the righteous but rather on the side of its five powerful permanent members. With its current structure, the U.N. is unable to speak out against the oppressor," he added.

Altun stressed that the "unfair and non-transparent" structure of the Security Council must change, adding that the whole world needs a U.N. that is representative of multiculturalism to achieve a more equitable and sustainable global peace.

The Presidency's Communications Directorate will hold a panel in 12 countries to emphasize the critical need for U.N. Security Council reform.