UN Chief Says Security Council 'Paralysis' Fueled by Conduct of Major Powers

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the paralysis affecting the UN Security Council has been fueled by the conduct of major powers, according to Anadolu Agency.

Guterres described reform of the Security Council as an "absolute priority," saying the composition of the body reflects the geopolitical realities of decades past rather than the world as it exists today, Anadolu Agency reported.

The Security Council, the UN's principal body for maintaining international peace and security, has five permanent members with veto power—the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom and France—alongside ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms.

Calls for reforming the council have grown in recent years, with critics arguing that its structure, largely unchanged since the end of World War II, does not adequately represent regions such as Africa, Latin America and parts of Asia.

Anadolu Agency's report did not provide further details on specific reform proposals put forward by Guterres or on the particular instances of major-power conduct he referenced.