Michel calls for urgent reform of the “time-consuming and defective” UN system

CCharles Michel thus expressed support for calls to limit veto powers in the UN Security Council in emergency situations and to expand the body’s global representation.

“For the past 19 months, a permanent member of the Security Council — Russia — has shamelessly waged a war to conquer its neighboring country,” Michel pointed out, while speaking on the third day of the annual meeting of the General Assembly of the UN.

The leader of the European Union (EU) institution recalled that Moscow “can even abuse its veto rights to avoid sanctions against itself and even use the Security Council to spread propaganda, disinformation and lies”.

Michel also stressed that “this United Nations system is currently slow and undermined by hostile forces.”

“We must assume our responsibilities”, he pointed out.

The war in Ukraine, along with climate change and post-pandemic global poverty, have been the focus of this year’s annual event, which included an in-person speech by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

The President of the European Council highlighted that the lack of adequate global representation in the Security Council reflected outdated power structures, when some countries were still colonial powers, and hampered the body’s ability to act.

“The planet is falling. The world is being torn apart by poverty and injustice”, he warned.

For Charles Michel, entire areas of the world – Africa, South America, the Caribbean and Asia – are underrepresented or not represented at all.

“We support the comprehensive and massive reform of the Security Council to amplify the voice of these regions”, he concluded.

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