By SCM Staff Writer I Sunday, Oct.26, 2025
NEW YORK — Marking a critical moment in the history of the world body, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres issued a stark warning today, stating that without a Security Council “fit for purpose,” the world is facing “grave danger.”
Speaking from U.N. headquarters, Mr. Guterres underscored the Council’s monumental role, noting that for 80 years it “has shaped the U.N. and the course of history.”
However, he stressed that the current structure is incapable of managing the escalating complexities and crises of the 21st century.
“Reform of the Council is imperative, and long overdue,” Mr. Guterres asserted, making a pointed reference to the need for expanding its membership.
The Secretary-General’s comments come amid mounting global frustrations over the Council’s recent paralysis on major international crises.
The body, which is responsible for maintaining global peace and security, has struggled to find consensus, particularly when the interests of its five permanent, veto-wielding members—the United States, Russia, China, France, and the United Kingdom—are at odds.
For decades, calls to reform the Security Council have been stalled. Critics argue that its composition remains a relic of the post-World War II era and fails to reflect the geopolitical realities of a multipolar world.
The veto power, held exclusively by the five permanent members, has been a particularly powerful source of gridlock, often preventing meaningful action on issues ranging from the war in Ukraine to conflicts in the Middle East.
Mr. Guterres did not specify a blueprint for reform but his explicit call for expanding membership is a nod to a widespread demand from numerous developing nations and major economic powers—including India, Brazil, Germany, and others—that seek a permanent seat at the most powerful U.N. table.
These nations argue that the current structure disenfranchises entire continents, particularly Africa and Latin America, whose voices are critical to global stability.
The Secretary-General’s remarks place immediate pressure on member states to finally overcome the deep divisions that have blocked meaningful structural change.
Without such reform, Mr. Guterres implied, the foundational mission of the U.N. to prevent global conflict is increasingly at risk.
The path to reform, however, is notoriously difficult, as any change to the U.N. Charter requires a two-thirds majority in the General Assembly, and critically, ratification by all five permanent members of the Security Council
