Guterres calls for urgent Security Council reforms on 80th anniversary

Hanoi: Marking the 80th anniversary of the United Nations Security Council, Secretary General António Guterres urged member nations to reform the body to reflect today’s global realities, warning that without change, the world faces “grave danger.” Speaking virtually from Hanoi, he called for an expanded and more representative Council to restore trust, legitimacy, and effectiveness in maintaining peace.

‘The Council exists for people, not power’

Guterres opened his remarks by recalling a symbolic moment from 1946 when a New York mechanic, Paul Antonio, left a message inside the first Security Council ballot box, expressing hope for “lasting peace for all.” “That humble note reminds us why the Council exists — for people,” Guterres said. “The privilege to sit at this table carries a duty to honour their faith and to channel resources toward peace, not war.”

Eighty years without a great power war

The Secretary General highlighted key moments in which the Council helped change the course of history — from supporting Cambodia’s recovery from genocide to assisting South Africa’s transition from apartheid. “Above all,” he noted, “you have given us 80 years without the chaos of a great power war.” He commended the Council’s role as a “vital necessity and a powerful force for good,” but cautioned that its legitimacy “remains fragile.”

Warning against violating UN Charter principles

Guterres strongly criticized instances where member nations have acted outside the principles of the UN Charter, warning that such actions erode global trust. “When one nation flouts the rules, others think they have license to do the same — and history tells us, with brutal clarity, where that road leads,” he cautioned.

Reform and expansion ‘imperative and long overdue’

Calling reform of the Security Council “imperative and long overdue,” Guterres underscored the urgent need to expand membership to better represent Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, and the Asia-Pacific. He pointed out that nearly half of all UN peacekeeping and political missions are based in Africa, yet the continent has no permanent seat. “This imbalance must be corrected as a matter of urgency,” he said, referring to the Pact for the Future that advocates structural reform.

Support for veto limitation proposals

The UN chief welcomed initiatives by France and the United Kingdom to limit the use of the veto power by permanent members. He encouraged the Security Council to seriously examine these proposals, saying they could help “undo deadlocks and offer stability in our increasingly multipolar world.”

A call to honour the hopes of the living

Guterres concluded with an emotional appeal, reminding delegates that the Council’s true purpose lies in upholding peace and humanity.
“The Security Council is not about hegemons and empires. It is about parents who have lost their children and refugees flung far from home,” he said. Quoting a poet, he added, “The greatest prayer of man is not for victory, but for peace.”

He urged members to “be worthy of the olive crown of the peacemaker” and to rebuild a Council that can “deliver justice and safety for all.”