Erdoğan calls for Security Council reform on UN's 81st anniversary

President Erdoğan stressed in his message marking the 81st anniversary of the United Nations' founding that the UN Security Council must be made more just and inclusive.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan issued a message marking United Nations Day on October 24 and the 81st anniversary of the UN's founding. Erdoğan congratulated UN personnel serving in Türkiye and different regions of the world, particularly Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

Erdoğan said the UN, established after two world wars, had assumed important responsibilities for preserving peace and security and promoting development and prosperity. He said global challenges such as wars, humanitarian disasters, climate change, hunger, poverty, racism and anti-Muslim hatred had increased the importance of the UN's founding mission.

“Gaza shows how urgent the need is”

Erdoğan stressed that all countries must uphold the UN Charter more strongly and support reforms that would make the organisation's principal organs more effective. He said making the Security Council more just and inclusive had become particularly important, adding: “The crises and conflicts extending to other parts of the world, particularly the genocide in Gaza that has cost more than 74,000 Gazans their lives, clearly demonstrate how urgent this need is.”

Erdoğan also said they supported the UN80 Initiative, the reform programme launched by Guterres in the organisation's 80th year, and were working closely with the organisation toward the goal of making Istanbul a UN centre.

Dışişleri Bakanlığının BM'nin 81. kuruluş yıl dönümü görseli

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also marked the 81st anniversary of the UN's founding. The ministry said Türkiye would continue its efforts within the UN with determination to build a more just, peaceful and prosperous future.