United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called for reform of the Security Council’s permanent members in his annual statement on the anniversary of the United Nations charter, arguing that the current establishment excludes key global voices and suffers from too many deadlocks.

“Reform of the Security Council is imperative, and long overdue, for the maintenance of global order and safety,” Guterres told the Security Council on Friday morning. “This includes expanding the membership.”

Newsweek reached out to the U.S. State Department via email for comment.

Why It Matters

The U.N. Security Council (UNSC) includes five permanent members, each with the power to veto any matter put to a vote before the council. Those members are the United States, the United Kingdom, China, France, and Russia.

The overall council also includes 10 rotating members, which this year includes Algeria, Denmark, Greece, Guyana, Pakistan, Panama, the Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, and Somalia, on a two-year term from members of the General Assembly. However, these members have less power than the permanent members.

Since Russia invaded Ukraine, the limits of the Security Council in its current form have grown increasingly apparent, with Russia rejecting any motion brought in favor of Ukraine, including several attempts to condemn its actions in Ukraine, preventing the Security Council from taking further actions, such as sanctions, arms embargoes, travel bans, and financial power restrictions.

The U.S. has also used the veto power to reject several measures brought against Israel since it began its operations in the Gaza Strip, including the rejection of several ceasefire resolutions.

What To Know

In his address to the Security Council, Guterres urged members to consider substantial reforms to help counter the stasis that has seemingly set in the council as a result of its current structure. Most notably, he called for the inclusion of additional permanent members, including members from Africa.

“Almost half of all U.N. peacekeeping missions, along with numerous special political missions, take place in Africa. Yet Africa has no permanent voice at this table,” Guterres said.

“Expanding the membership is not only about justice; it is also about results. It has the potential to undo deadlocks, and offer stability in our increasingly multipolar world,” he added, referring to the shifting power dynamics in the world over the past few years.

Some experts have warned that due to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the changes to U.S. foreign policy under President Donald Trump, the international landscape is shifting toward a new multi-polar world, one no longer defined by two great superpowers in opposition, such as the U.S. versus USSR or U.S. versus China, but instead by several powers in balance against each other.

However, one of the greatest stumbling block to any reform of the Security Council comes from the current structure: The permanent members would need to willingly give up the current structure and adopt a new one, something that many are skeptical would truly happen, even though Guterres said during his remarks that he had noted proposals from France and the United Kingdom to limit the veto power.

“One of the big conundrums of this is that the key countries on the Security Council need themselves to be able to support the changes in the Security Council,” Guterres’ deputy spokesperson, Farhan Haq, said during a press briefing on Friday in response to a Newsweek inquiry. “Ultimately, what is needed is for those countries to hear the voices of all the other member states about how in order to be effective, the Security Council needs to be reformed.”

“The secretary-general encourages these reforms, although he does, of course, respect that under the U.N. Charter, it’s the member states themselves who ultimately will have to decide on this,” Haq added.

What People Are Saying

Finnish President Alexander Stubb said during his speech before the U.N. General Assembly in September: “No single state should have a veto power. And if a member of the Security Council violates the UN Charter, its voting rights should be suspended. I believe that these changes at the top of the UN are necessary in order to maintain the UN’s central role in international relations.”

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said in a statement posted to X in September: “The world today is not the same as 80 years ago. The #UN Security Council must reflect that. Africa, Asia & Latin America need to be represented accordingly – as does Germany, which bears major political & financial responsibility. Together with [Brazil], [India], & [Japan], we push for reform.”

The Permanent Mission to Jamaica said of a meeting with Indian representatives earlier in October: “Discussions focused on UN Reform, especially Security Council reform, as well as on areas of collaboration between our two countries at the UN—underscoring the importance of multilateralism.”