Erdogan calls for reform of the United Nations

Turkish Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has called for worldwide participation in carrying out reform of the United Nations stressing that the UNSC should represent all the countries of the world.

He pointed out that the five permanent members of the council did not actually represent the whole world, noting that this is a major problem facing the Alliance of Civilizations.

Erdoğan also called for structural change to the UN Security Council to be given consideration. He also criticized the ability of the 5 permanent members to bring an issue to deadlock should they object to it and attributed the international community’s inability to resolve the Syrian conflict to the protest of two countries in the UNSC.

The Turkish Prime Minister further pointed out the importance of the organisation representing all countries and religions of the world saying, “If we want to talk about an alliance of civilizations, we must first consider the permanent members of the UNSC.” In that context, he asked “Does the UNSC represent all the religions of the world?”, “Of course not.”

In a related matter, Erdogan emphasized the role of the Alliance of Civilizations under the umbrella of the U.N saying, “We are at a time where we need dialogue, negotiations and tolerance more than ever.” He also shed light on the increase in the racist attacks and the number of global deaths as a result of terrorism, saying it is mainly a product of the lack of understanding between different religions and sects.

The Turkish Prime Minister urged the world to work together to put an end to such violence adding that it was a difficult direction to follow, particularly in comparison with the countries that remain indifferent. He called for unified efforts toward change – development away from increased violence and toward positive developments. He also listed the problems standing in the way of such development.