UN Organization
Security Council reform at UNGA 81
Raised by 122 of 223 speakers. Read verbatim UN transcript quotes and select a time to hear the speech.
Speeches that raised security council reform
Barbados · Day 3Mia Amor Mottleythe Security Council still has 15 members, five of them permanent and armed with that veto.
Africa, with 54 states, has no permanent seat.
And you've heard speaker after speaker after speaker come to this platform to say that this must change.
6passages
Somalia · Day 3Hassan Sheikh MohamudThe promise of the Charter belongs equally to every human being and every member state.
Yet, the United Nations has increasingly become associated with political gridlocks in the Security Council, prolonged negotiations without tangible outcomes, and a weakening capacity to mobilize collective action in response to the threats to international peace and security.
This should concern all of us, not because the United Nations is not important, but precisely because it is indispensable and appears absent from the global solutions for peace and stability in this dangerous and unpredictable time.
5passages
Zimbabwe · Day 3Emmerson Dambudzo MnangagwaThe support of Zimbabwe will also be extended to the women and youth peace and security agendas.
The current times demand peacekeeping that is grounded in clear political strategies, realistic mandates, and adequate resources.
Those most affected by the decisions of the Security Council should not be the least heard.
3passages
Liberia · Day 3Joseph Nyuma BoakaiReforming global governance, correcting historic injustice.
Mr. President, 80 years of patience is enough.
The time for structural reform is now.
3passages
Portugal · Day 3Luís MontenegroThese are shared responsibilities and opportunities that require a collective effort that must unite us all.
Mr. President, Excellencies, despite everything, the United Nations is a political masterpiece of humanity.
It will be constantly evolving and will reflect the decision of its members.
3passages
Senegal · Day 3Bassirou Diomaye Diakhar FayePresident, the years are ticking by, but our efforts to reform governance have yet to produce a significant impact.
The status quo when it comes to reforming the Security Council bears witness to that fact.
We all agree that the composition of the Security Council is out of step with the realities of our time.
3passages
Slovenia · Day 3Janez JanšaOr consider Nigeria.
For more than a decade, Nigerian communities have faced mass killings, kidnappings, the destruction of villages and places of worship, and the displacement of hundreds of thousands of people.
In return, this body produced a single Security Council resolution.
3passages
Ghana · Day 3John Dramani MahamaMr. President, the injustices of the past remain embedded in today's power structures.
Africa is home to 1.5 billion people.
over 18% of humanity, and constitutes the largest regional voting bloc in this General Assembly.
2passages
Nigeria · Day 3Kashim ShettimaWe must therefore return to the founding principles of dialogue, mutual respect, and collective responsibility.
Nigeria stands by the charter and its promise of a world in which diplomacy prevails over coercion, cooperation over isolation, and international law over arbitrary exercise of power.
Mr. President, the reform of this institution must begin with the reconstitution of the Security Council.
2passages
Thailand · Day 3Anutin CharnvirakulMr. President, the UN's membership has become nearly universal, but representation has not evolved at the same pace.
An international system cannot command trust if large parts of its membership feel they have too little to say in shaping it.
Rebuilding trust requires shared ownership.
2passages
Australia · Day 3Anthony AlbaneseAnd that is why Australia is seeking a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council for 2029-2030.
The world faces tough times, and Australia wants to respond, to partner, and to make a difference.
Should our Security Council bid prove successful, our purpose and approach will be consistent with how we have always conducted ourselves at the UN.
2passages
Ireland · Day 3Micheál MartinThese are necessary if we are to meet the challenges of our rapidly changing world.
But it is also necessary to point out that no reform process can succeed unless member states are prepared to support the United Nations politically, financially, and through their actions.
We need the Security Council to live up to its mandate and respond to the crises around us.
2passages
South Africa · Day 3Ronald Ozzy LamolaAs the only country in the world to have voluntarily dismantled its nuclear weapons program, South Africa stands ready to share this experience as a demonstration that, with political will, credible and verifiable nuclear disarmament is achievable.
In our view, restoring trust in multilateralism will not happen without meaningful reform of global governance, principally the UN Security Council.
African citizens are growing weary of their continent being consigned to the periphery of global governance.
2passages
Madagascar · Day 3Michaël RandrianirinaWe must also correct the historical imbalance affecting Africa's representation on the Security Council.
Indeed, Africa cannot remain on the margins of decisions.
We have 1.4 billion inhabitants, decisions concerning international peace and security.
1passages
Guyana · Day 3Mohamed Irfaan AliUnited Nations must not be a monument to the past.
It must become an instrument for the future.
We need a Security Council that reflects the geopolitical realities of the 21st century, not the power structures of 1945.
1passages
Uruguay · Day 3Yamandú OrsiThey must be protected and respected as they represent the boundaries established to preserve identity, distinctive character, and a sense of belonging of their respective populations.
We cannot continue to be held hostage to the will of a handful of countries that can be counted on the fingers of one hand, nor can we yield to the economic expediencies of the time.
The aim here is clear, to achieve lasting stability, to ensure that the efforts of our citizens and their governments are channeled towards generating prosperity, far removed, of course, from the destruction and suffering caused by war.
1passages
European Union · Day 3António CostaThe answer is to reform, renew, and reinvest.
The UN80 initiative offers an opportunity to make the United Nations more efficient and more effective.
The European Union also continues to call for a comprehensive reform of the United Nations Security Council to make it more effective, inclusive, democratic and accountable.
1passages
Equatorial Guinea · Day 3Teodoro Nguema Obiang MangueAfrica brings together 54 United Nations member states and represents a fundamental share of the political and demographic reality of the 21st century.
We must move towards a more balanced international community in which Africa participates fully in global decisions and strengthens its ability to lead its own development.
Equatorial Guinea reaffirms the African common position as enshrined in the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirt Declaration.
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Côte d’Ivoire · Day 3Tiémoko Meyliet KonéIndeed, it is becoming increasingly difficult to explain to younger generations that organizations created in the aftermath of the Second World War can no longer faithfully reflect the political, demographic, and economic realities of the 21st century.
My country once again reaffirms its support for an ambitious reform of the Security Council so as to ensure permanent representation for Africa in this important body whose decisions directly affect our peace and security.
That is why Cote d'Ivoire welcomes the progress achieved through the Pact for the Future and calls for its swift implementation.
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Kuwait · Day 3Sheikh Sabah Al-Khaled Al-Hamad Al-Mubarak Al-SabahWe would be remiss not to applaud the efforts, good offices, and initiatives of the Secretary-General aimed at strengthening multilateralism and that include initiatives such as UN80 and the Pact for the Future, as well as the ongoing efforts to address global challenges, crises, conflicts, wars, climate change, and terrorism, as well as the efforts to assist member states in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals and to strengthen international cooperation on artificial intelligence.
We hope that these efforts will continue beyond the conclusion of the Secretary-General's term in a manner to guarantee the continuity of work to reform and develop the organization's bodies enhance its effectiveness and performance in discharging its responsibilities.
In this context, we emphasize that Security Council reform and the Security Council is the body charged with maintaining international peace and security has become essential to keep pace with the significant increase in the number of member states and the changes in international relations since the establishment of the organization.
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Netherlands (Kingdom of the) · Day 3Rob JettenAnd the middle powers must take the lead in fostering such international cooperation.
And everyone must be able to participate, including those countries who are currently too often left on the sidelines.
It is time that countries in Africa, Asia, and Latin America had a fully fledged place, not only on the equal earth map, but in the real world too.
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Austria · Day 3Beate Meinl-ReisingerWhat matters to them is whether food arrives, whether a doctor reaches them, whether peacekeepers protect them.
Reform must therefore pass a simple test: does it make the United Nations more able to deliver when people need it?
Austria has been a strong supporter of the reform efforts of the Secretary-General.
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