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NEW YORK: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for the abolition of the veto power held by the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, arguing that the current system no longer reflects global political and economic realities. <\/p>\n
In an opinion piece published by Bloomberg on Tuesday, Erdogan said recent global crises, including wars, pandemics, energy shocks and supply-chain disruptions, had demonstrated the limitations of an international decision-making system in which a small number of countries retain disproportionate influence.<\/p>\n
The UN Security Council\u2019s five permanent members; China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, each have the power to veto substantive resolutions.<\/p>\n
Erdogan argued that reform efforts should focus on eliminating that privilege rather than expanding permanent membership and granting veto powers to additional countries.<\/p>\n
Adding more privileged members, he said, would not address the underlying problem of decision-making authority being concentrated among a limited group of states.<\/p>\n
Instead, Erdogan proposed a Security Council without permanent members, with countries elected by the UN General Assembly for fixed and rotating terms. States seeking to return to the council would have to secure the support of a majority of UN members through a fresh election.<\/p>\n
He also called for the powers of the General Assembly to be strengthened and for the Security Council to become more accountable to the wider UN membership.<\/p>\n
Erdogan has for years promoted the phrase \u201cThe world is bigger than five\u201d, a reference to Turkiye\u2019s position that the UN system should provide greater representation for countries outside the current group of permanent Security Council members.<\/p>\n
His latest comments come amid longstanding international debate over Security Council reform, including calls for greater representation for Africa, Asia, Latin America and developing countries.<\/p>\n
Erdogan said shifts in economic and political power had made reform increasingly urgent, pointing to Asia\u2019s growing economic weight, demands from African states for stronger representation and a more assertive role for developing countries in international affairs.<\/p>\n
He argued that global institutions had failed to adapt quickly enough to these changes.<\/p>\n
The Turkish president also linked institutional reform to wider concerns over climate change, migration, economic inequality, energy security and disruptions to global trade and transport routes.<\/p>\n
He said regional powers with strong diplomatic and economic capabilities should assume greater responsibility for addressing conflicts and challenges in their own regions, while solutions should take greater account of local conditions and the priorities of the countries concerned.<\/p>\n
Erdogan also said globalization had failed to deliver prosperity evenly, with income inequality and technological and economic dependence creating new areas of international competition.<\/p>\n
Developing countries, he argued, should have better access to financing and a stronger voice in shaping international decision-making.<\/p>\n
Turkiye would continue to use its diplomatic relationships and experience in multilateral institutions to support reform of the international system, Erdogan said.<\/p>\n
He called for a broad coalition within the General Assembly to support the principle that no single country should be able to permanently block the position of the majority of the international community.<\/p>\n
Erdogan said stronger elected representation, an enhanced role for the General Assembly and the abolition of veto rights could increase the legitimacy and representative character of the UN system.<\/p>\n
He concluded that lasting peace would require cooperation between different regions rather than the emergence of competing and disconnected geopolitical blocs, and said Turkiye intended to continue advocating for what it describes as a fairer international order.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n