Nova Iorke, 23 september 2024 (TATOLI) – Timorese Prime Minister, Kay Rala Xanana Gusmão, in his speech at the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly (UNGA 79), in New York, called for structural reform of the UN Security Council.
The Prime Minister said that reforming the structure of the United Nations Security Council is crucial for the organization to play its role in maintaining international peace and security.
“I advocate for structural reform of the Security Council, which has become obsolete, ineffective, and unrepresentative of today’s realities. An international organization is only credible if it responds to current needs and does not remain bound to a mechanism created to address problems from almost 80 years ago,” Gusmão stressed.
Prime Minister supported the need for expanding the permanent members of the Security Council, for greater geographical, cultural, and economic representation and legitimacy: “It is difficult to realize principles of transparency, accountability, and trust, while rich and developed countries continue to make decisions for poor and developing countries. It is a case of a few deciding for us, without us!”
Gusmão said that the world is currently facing increasingly complex challenges, including the climate crisis, extreme inequality, and growing geopolitical tensions, so he urged the international community, including the United Nations, to maintain its commitment to building and maintaining peace around the world to ensure development for all.
He said that the international community has yet to find multilateral solutions for a future of peace for many nations around the world — “from Palestine to Ukraine, from Yemen to Sudan, from the Central African Republic to the Democratic Republic of the Congo, from Afghanistan to Myanmar, and from Haiti to many other fragile and conflict-ridden countries.”
“We all know that the United Nations was created after World War II for the preservation of global peace, human rights, and international development. However, we now live in an age of disorder, uncertainty, instability, and conflict,” said Gusmão.
Gusmão said as crises intensify, more and more people are suffering from hunger … What kind of world are we living in, where we can fuel wars, but cannot feed children?”
As the world witnessed thousands of deaths in the Mediterranean, as people fled their homelands to escape conflict and poverty, Gusmão hoped the international community, especially world leaders would approach this crisis with greater concern and sensitivity, beyond the mere discussion of immigration issues.
Journalist: Hortencio Sanchez
Editor: Filomeno Martins
