Germany urges ‘profound’ reforms to United Nations

Germany on Saturday called for “profound” United Nations reforms to make the world body more effective.

A new secretary-general is needed “to lead a profound process of reform. Above all, we must close the gap between what we expect from the United Nations and the capabilities we give to the organization,” Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said in his speech to the UN General Assembly in New York. Antonio Guterres, the current secretary-general, is due to step down at the end of this year.

“First we need a functioning UN that plays an active role in resolving conflicts rather than merely managing them. In times when the Security Council as the central decision-making body is paralyzed, this is more difficult than ever. We need to keep its reform high on our agenda,” he added, while also warning of “the erosion of international law.”

The UN Security Council is made up of 15 of the 193 UN member states. Five nuclear powers and victors of World War II are permanent members and have veto rights: the US, China, Russia, Great Britain, and France.

Some of the other 188 member states take turns in the remaining 10 seats every two years.

Türkiye has long spoken out in favor of reforming the Security Council, as did Germany, Brazil, India, and Japan collectively during UN General Assembly week.

Such reforms are more important than ever “given the increasingly challenging geopolitical environment,” the foreign ministers of the so-called G4 group said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

The UN Security Council, in its current form, is unable to fulfill its central mission, said Wadephul and his counterparts from Brazil, India, and Japan.

The “representativeness, legitimacy, and capacity to act” of the UN’s highest body are currently in question. One reason for this is “an anachronistic, eight-decade-old architecture.”

The Security Council’s current composition is “an obstacle to adequately addressing present and future challenges,” the four countries said.