The fifth of the panel series titled "United Nations (UN) Security Council Reform: A New Approach to Reconstructing the International Order" organised by the Presidency's Directorate of Communications, was held in Oslo, the capital of Norway, after Rome, Buenos Aires, Paris and London.
Assoc. Prof. Ece Baban from Fenerbahçe University, Assoc. Prof. Gonca Oğuz Gök from Marmara University, Senior Researcher at the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs, Niels Nagelhus Schia, PhD and former UN Undersecretary-General, Jan Egeland, PhD spoke in the panel, which was moderated by Assoc. Prof. Veysel Kurt from Istanbul Medeniyet University, Faculty of Political Sciences.
Gök began her presentation at the panel by saying that the UN continues to be the only real universal platform where various actors have the chance to tackle the "setup which must exist".
Stating that despite the UN is the result of a normative universal consensus on both the global North and the global South, it has been operating, especially since the 1990s, on liberal international order principles that frequently marginalised the voices of the South, Gök said, however, it is unlikely that global issues such as climate change and mitigation of pandemic-induced crises will be addressed without multilateral cooperation inside a more powerful UN.
Gök said, "Multilateralism is definitely in crisis." and added that the major international powers and the permanent members of the UN Security Council were slow to take action in the face of various developments.
Reiterating that reform demands have been on the table since the 1950s, Gök said, "We have seen the ineffectiveness of the UN in the Ukraine war. There have been increasing demands since 2000. Various countries, medium or big, submitted their proposals."
Stating that the road to UN reform is not easy, Gök emphasised that the stance of the rising middle powers group is very important for UN reform and said, "The UN has been an important stakeholder since the past. It played an important role by setting goals. One should not undervalue the UN's technical expertise."
Gök stated that the demands did not receive the support they deserved because it is clear that the reform groups' viewpoints on the Security Council reform are divergent.
Underlining the necessity of sticking to multilateralism, Gök said, "The visionary leaders of states may promote reform."
"It is vital to provide realistic suggestions, even if we do not adopt a positive viewpoint"
Egeland expressed gratitude to Türkiye for hosting the panel and stated that it is very valuable that Türkiye supports the UN. Pointing out that there are many initiatives on the UN reform, but no country advocates the reform as strongly as Türkiye, Egeland stated that the world public opinion needs the UN to exist in its strongest form, especially in the new "Cold War" environment caused by the refugee crisis and the Ukraine-Russia war.
Expressing that the UN Security Council represents the world order in 1945, not 2022, Egeland said, "The five permanent members do not represent the world of the 2020s."
Underlining that the reform proposals should be those that everyone can accept, Egeland said, "The initial response to each proposal made so far is whether a country is in or out of that reform proposal. The number of members has increased, and there is a lot of disappointment. There are so many countries that are disappointed since they are not included in the top 10 proposed."
Egeland also brought up the reform plan put forth by the former Secretary-General Kofi Annan in 2005, highlighting that it could not be carried out because of disagreements amongst countries.
Egeland elaborated on the need for African countries, which are represented at the UN by 56 countries, to have stronger representation, saying that countries make selfish offers.
Stating that some countries should have stronger representation owing to their location, Egeland argued that significant countries like Türkiye should be at the forefront of representation and said, "It is vital to provide such realistic suggestions, even if we do not adopt a positive viewpoint.”
"The international conjuncture of the UN should also be represented"
Schia from the Norwegian Institute of International Affairs noted that while he agrees with the slogan "The world is bigger than five," he also acknowledged that the Security Council is imperfect and has frequently failed throughout history.
Bringing up the Liechtenstein Proposal, which mandates that if a permanent member of the Security Council uses their veto power, they must politically justify their decision before the General Assembly, Schia said that if the UN Security Council adopts this proposal as a formal decision, it will function more openly and allow for debate on the veto power.
Assoc. Prof. Baban emphasised in her address that as the world changes, so do the security threats it faces, making it necessary to adopt security measures more equitably by not endangering one another's sovereign rights.
In her speech, Baban said that the UNSC's responsibility should be to uphold international security and peace, adding that "Permanent members should not consider themselves as a priority."
Declaring that the need for reform is driven by the need to establish a common security system that will function more effectively after the two World Wars, Baban pointed out that the veto power held by the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, also known as the "great powers," puts the interests of these five states at conflict with those of other states.
Recalling that the UN is a crucial umbrella organisation for resolutely resolving problems that threaten global peace, strengthening international cooperation, preventing war, and ensuring security, Baban, however, asserted that if the five permanent members of such a significant organisation chose to abstain or exercise their veto power on anything that would directly or indirectly damage their interests, this would not contribute to the desired peaceful environment.
Emphasising that despite the UN having added many members since it was founded, the permanent members of the UNSC and the veto power have remained the same, Baban said, "The UN does not, by any means, represent this change. The balance of power is not represented by it. The international conjuncture should also be represented."
Pointing out that she believes developing countries are not at all represented in the UNSC, Baban said, "There is now concern about the security of humanity."
