Reform needed in UN during post-coronavirus pandemic period

By Baris Seckin

ROME (AA) - Reform should be carried out in international organizations such as the UN in the post-coronavirus pandemic period, experts said Thursday.

A panel on post-pandemic global governance was held before the G20 Leaders Summit.

The panel organized by Turkey’s Communications Directorate was held at the Yunus Emre Institute in Rome.

Valeria Giannotta, an Italian expert on Turkish politics, said the existing multilateral system has proven ineffective during the pandemic.

The post-pandemic period had led international organizations to reconsider their structure and reform should be carried out in organizations such as the UN, she said.

Noting that there are some weaknesses among the EU countries, she said Italy suffered due to the lack of compliance and solidarity in the bloc during the pandemic.

Turkey sent a significant amount of help to Italy in April 2020 and Giannotta said it proves that Italy and Turkey are brother countries.

Oktay Tanrisever, professor at the Middle East Technical University, said the international community faced great challenges during that period.

“We should rethink the basic principles of global governance. COVID-19 showed that the international order is actually extremely weak,” Tanrisever said, adding that human beings have to be in the center of global governance.

During the G20 Leaders' Summit on Oct. 30-31, world leaders are expected to discuss the economic recovery in the shadow of the coronavirus epidemic, developments in the global economy and health, climate change, the environment, sustainable development and the refugee crisis, as well as roles the G20 can play on these issues.

Since December 2019, the pandemic has claimed more than 4.97 million lives in at least 192 countries and regions, with over 245.22 million cases reported, according to US-based Johns Hopkins University.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​