G20 Summit: As India eyes seat, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calls for urgent UNSC reforms

Ajay Banerjee

New Delhi, September 8

Batting for urgent reforms in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres today said there was a need for effective international institutions rooted in 21st century realities and based on the UN Charter and international law. “The global financial architecture is outdated, dysfunctional and unfair. It requires deep, structural reforms. The same can be said of the UNSC,” he said.

Global bodies must truly represent today’s realities

I have been advocating bold steps to make global institutions truly universal and representative of today’s realities. Reforms must be responsive to needs of developing economies… have no time to lose. Antonio Guterres, UN Chief

Speaking here on the eve of the G20 summit, Guterres said he had been advocating bold steps to make global institutions truly universal and representative of today’s realities. He said the world was in a difficult moment of transition. “The future is multipolar, but our multilateral institutions reflect a bygone age,” he said. The UNSC has five permanent members — the US, UK, France, Russia and China. India has been claiming a seat in the coveted club.

Asked by the media if time-line was needed for having these reforms, Guterres said, “Yes, there is a need, and it is urgent. The existential nature of challenges means we should not waste time.”

He refused to comment if India would get a seat. “It is for the member states to decide which country gets a seat…. Divisions are growing, tensions are flaring up and trust is eroding, which together raise the spectre of fragmentation, and ultimately confrontation,” he said. The G20 leaders must show leadership in two priority areas — climate change and sustainable development goals (SDG). Earlier, Guterres said he hoped India’s G20 presidency would help lead to the kind of transformative change “our world so desperately needs”.

The UN chief said the climate crisis was spiralling out of control. “Together, G20 countries are responsible for 80 per cent of global emissions. Half-measures will not prevent full climate breakdown. I have put forward a ‘climate solidarity pact’. In it, big emitters make extra efforts to cut emissions and wealthier countries support the emerging economies to achieve this,” said Guterres.