Germany Calls for 'Profound' UN Reform, Warns of Law 'Erosion'
Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, addressing the UN General Assembly in New York, said the incoming secretary-general must be prepared "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." Current Secretary-General Antonio Guterres is set 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," Wadephul added, also warning of "the erosion of international law."
Security Council Structure Under Scrutiny
The UN Security Council consists of 15 of the UN's 193 member states. Five nuclear powers and World War II victors — the US, China, Russia, Great Britain, and France — hold permanent seats with veto power, while the remaining 10 seats rotate every two years among the other 188 member states.
Türkiye has long advocated reforming the Security Council, a position echoed collectively by Germany, Brazil, India, and Japan during UN General Assembly week.
Such reforms are more critical than ever "given the increasingly challenging geopolitical environment," the foreign ministers of the so-called G4 group said in a joint statement issued Tuesday.
The Security Council, in its present form, cannot fulfill its central mission, according to Wadephul and his counterparts from Brazil, India, and Japan. The body's "representativeness, legitimacy, and capacity to act" are now in question, the ministers said, attributing the problem in part to "an anachronistic, eight-decade-old architecture."
The Council's current composition, the four countries said, is "an obstacle to adequately addressing present and future challenges."
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