Up to members to expand UN Security Council: Guterres
India is an “important partner” in the global multilateral system though it is for the member states of the UN to decide which countries should be included in a reformed Security Council, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said.
India is an “important partner” in the global multilateral system though it is for the member states of the United Nations (UN) to decide which countries should be included in a reformed Security Council, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Friday.
Addressing a media briefing ahead of the G20 Summit in New Delhi, Guterres said in the context of the Ukraine conflict that the UN cannot be held responsible for the actions of member states. He was responding to a question on whether the dysfunctionality of the UN has resulted in bodies such as the G20 being called on to do more to settle crises such as the Ukraine conflict.
While India has the world’s largest population and is an important partner in the global multilateral system, it is for UN member states to decide who should be in the Security Council, he said in response to a question on whether India should be included in the world body’s top decision-making organ.
“It is not for me to decide who is going to be in the Security Council. It is for me to say that I believe we need the reform of the Security Council to reflect the realities of today’s world,” he added.
Asked if the world community is looking at the G20 to do more to resolve crises because of the dysfunctionality of the UN, Guterres replied the UN shouldn’t be held responsible for the actions of member states.
“It was not the UN that invaded Ukraine, it was not the UN that created the conditions for this conflict. So let’s make things clear – the responsibilities of member states must be assumed by member states and let’s not make the UN the scapegoat for the failures or the negative actions that are committed by member states,” he said.
Guterres hoped India’s G20 presidency will lead to the kind of transformative change the world needs as he welcomed the focus on “One Earth, One Family, One Future”. He said, “Divisions are growing, tensions are flaring up, and trust is eroding – which together raise the spectre of fragmentation, and ultimately, confrontation.”
He added, “Our world is in a difficult moment of transition. The future is multipolar – but our multilateral institutions reflect a bygone age. The global financial architecture is outdated, dysfunctional, and unfair. It requires deep, structural reform. And the same can be said of the United Nations Security Council.”
Guterres said he had come to the G20 with a simple but urgent appeal: “We cannot go on like this. We must come together and act together for the common good.”
The G20 leaders have a moral imperative to deliver on climate commitments.
“Half-measures will not prevent full climate breakdown. Leadership means keeping the 1.5 degree goal alive,” he said. “Rebuilding trust based on climate justice and advancing a just and equitable transition to a green economy are important.”
Guterres cited his “Climate Solidarity Pact”, which envisages big emitters making extra efforts to cut emissions and wealthier countries supporting emerging economies to achieve this.
The pact calls on developed countries to reach net-zero as close as possible to 2040, and emerging economies as close as possible to 2050. It calls on Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries to phase out coal by 2030 and by 2040 in all others.
“End all licensing or funding of new fossil fuel projects And bring affordable electricity to everyone on earth while simultaneously reaching net-zero electricity by 2035 in developed countries and 2040 elsewhere,” he said.
Guterres also called on G20 leaders to deliver on climate finance. “Leadership also means finally delivering on commitments to developing countries – including by meeting the $100 billion goal, doubling adaptation finance, replenishing the Green Climate Fund, and operationalising the loss and damage fund created at Sharm El Sheikh (COP27),” he said.
