UN Security Council needs to be restructured: Erdogan

By Burak Bir

ANKARA (AA) - There is an urgent need for implementing “comprehensive and meaningful reforms” at UN, starting with the restructuring of the UN Security Council, Turkish president said on Tuesday.

“We have seen how ineffective the existing global mechanisms have been during this crisis.

This was so much true that it took weeks, even months, for the Security Council, the most fundamental decision-making body of the United Nations, to include the pandemic on its agenda.

“Thus, we have once again seen the rightfulness of the ‘the world is bigger than five’ thesis, which I have been advocating for years from this rostrum,” Erdogan told the 75th session of the UN General Assembly via a video link.

Stressing the importance of reviewing mentality, institutions and rules, to prevent the loss of reputation of international organizations, Erdogan said that the fate of humanity cannot be left at the mercy of limited number of countries.

“We must provide the Council with a more effective, democratic, transparent and accountable structure and functioning. Likewise, we should also strengthen the General Assembly, which reflects the common conscience of the international community,” he urged.

Touching on the needs of global cooperation for global problems like COVID-19, he said that the world should try to use the mechanisms for multilateral cooperation in the most effective way.

“We have been in the forefront of efforts to combat the pandemic in the G20, the Turkic Council, MIKTA, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and other platforms, he said, adding that Turkey has extended help to 146 countries during the global outbreak.