UN Secretary-General: "Security Council's Failure to Address Conflicts... Critical Damage to Authority"

"Unable to Play a Role in Coordinating Peace in Gaza Following the Ukraine War"

United Nations Secretary-General Ant?nio Guterres pointed out that the authority of the UN Security Council (UNSC) has been undermined as its coordinating function for peace has failed to be exercised in the Ukraine war and the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Secretary-General Guterres said on the 26th (local time) at a meeting of the Human Rights Council held at the UN Geneva Office, "Perhaps the authority of the Security Council has been seriously, perhaps fatally, undermined."

He cited the UNSC's failure to respond properly amid the stalemate in the war following Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the escalating humanitarian crisis caused by the clashes between Israeli forces and Hamas as the cause of the "undermining of authority."

He particularly pointed to the situation in the Gaza Strip, where Israeli forces continue ground operations, and self-critically said, "The Security Council lacked unity."

This appears to refer to the worsening humanitarian situation on the ground after a resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian ceasefire was submitted to the Security Council on the 20th but was rejected due to the United States' veto.

Ant?nio Guterres, United Nations Secretary-General, speaking at the United Nations Headquarters on November 6 last year (local time) ahead of a meeting on the situation in the Gaza Strip.
[Photo by Reuters]

Secretary-General Guterres mentioned that Israeli forces are attempting to expand ground operations in Rafah, the southern part of the Gaza Strip crowded with refugees, and criticized, "A full-scale attack on this city would be a terrible thing for civilians and would effectively nail shut the coffin of the UN's humanitarian aid programs."

He called for "serious reform of the Security Council's composition and working methods."

Guterres had also advocated for Security Council reform at the UN Headquarters in New York on the 8th.

At that time, he stated, "During the Cold War era, well-established mechanisms helped coordinate relations among major powers, but in today's multipolar era, such mechanisms have disappeared, and as a result, we are witnessing unpredictable and unpunished chaos."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.