No Alternative to UN But Security Council Expansion Needed – Ex-Under Secretary General

The United Nations Security Council should include countries from Asia, Africa, and Latin America to reflect the new realities of the world, former UN Under-Secretary-General Sergey Ordzhonikidze told Sputnik.

In 1945, at the end of World War II, representatives from 50 countries gathered in San Francisco, United States, at the United Nations Conference on the Establishment of an International Organization to draft the UN Charter, which they signed on June 26, 1945.

According to Ordzhonikidze, the creation of the United Nations was a huge step forward for humanity in terms of preventing war – the right legal and political conclusions were drawn that war was unacceptable.

Ordzhonikidze, who served as under-secretary-general of the United Nations from 2002 to 2011, recalled that the drafting of the UN Charter was essentially carried out by the Allied powers in the second half of World War II, which made it possible to coordinate the Charter and put it into effect.

Sergei Ordzhonikidze, former director-general of the United Nations office in Geneva

© Photo : Sergei Ordzhonikidze

"It was a 'product' of the Allied powers that defeated German Nazism and Japanese militarism," Ordzhonikidze said.

No Alternative to United Nations

According to the former UN under-secretary general, there is currently no alternative to the UN, as the world has always experienced periods of war and peaceful coexistence.

"Now, especially, what alternative can there be to the UN? That is why I look at the cyclical nature of this alternation of wars and the situation of peace with optimism," he said.

Ordzhonikidze emphasized that the UN is not a separate structure that exists apart from others. However, when member states disagree on certain issues and have serious contradictions, the UN cannot function because these states have completely opposite views on international peace and security issues.

Need for UNSC Reform

Despite the apparent lack of alternatives to the UN, the Security Council still needs to be reformed, and Russia has long advocated such reform, Ordzhonikidze said.

"I believe that the Security Council should include countries from Asia, Africa, and Latin America. In other words, the Security Council should reflect the new realities of the world," Ordzhonikidze said.

According to Ordzhonikidze, the current composition of the Security Council is Western-centric. Moreover, both the West and especially the United States want to make the UN Security Council even more Western-centric by adding Germany and Japan.

"This is nothing new. But let's see, why are the interests of Asian, African, and Latin American countries completely ignored? It is clear for what reason – they have their own vision of many crucial international issues, and they have their own position, unlike the military and political allies of the United States, such as Germany and Japan. Therefore, the Security Council must reflect the realities and power balance of the modern world. This is what Washington does not want to accept," he stressed.

Ordzhonikidze believes that the UN Security Council first and foremost needs to include developing countries, which play a much more important role in international relations today than they did in 1945.

There are currently 193 member states of the United Nations. In July 2011, South Sudan became the 193rd full member of the UN. The Security Council is the principal organ of the UN responsible for maintaining international peace and security. It consists of 15 members. The five permanent members - the United States, United Kingdom, Russia, France, and China - have veto power. The non-permanent members of the Security Council are elected for a two-year term.