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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has called for reforms to strengthen the United Nations (UN), including changes to the Security Council and the removal of veto powers held by its five permanent members.
Speaking during the UN General Assembly on Thursday, Sánchez said reforming the global body was necessary to restore confidence in multilateralism and enable the UN to play a more effective role in addressing global challenges.
“We must redouble our confidence in the multilateral system; we must renew and strengthen it so that it can play the same central role in this century that it did in the 20th century,” Sánchez said.
He also called for a more representative Security Council, arguing that its current structure does not adequately reflect the interests of all regions.
“We need to reform the Security Council to ensure fair representation for all regions of the world and to end the veto power of permanent members, because, as the UN Charter indicates, no country — no matter how powerful — should act as both judge and party to a dispute,” he said.
Sánchez’s remarks followed a similar call by Panamanian President José Raúl Mulino, who earlier urged reforms to the Security Council, including permanent representation for countries in Latin America and the Caribbean.
The Security Council has 15 members, comprising 10 non-permanent members and five permanent members: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia and China.
The five permanent members currently hold veto powers, which allow them to block substantive resolutions of the council.
