Reform, Renewal, and Relevance: The UN at a Crossroads
- ATN
- Oct 24
- 3 min read
By ATN News
UNHQ, New York: The United Nations marked its 80th anniversary on Friday — UN Day — with solemn reflection and renewed urgency. Secretary-General António Guterres and the Council of Presidents of the UN General Assembly each delivered impassioned messages calling for deep reform of the world body to meet the challenges of a fractured, fast-changing global order.
Guterres: “Be Worthy of the Olive Crown”
Speaking virtually from Hanoi to a special Security Council session commemorating its 80th anniversary, Secretary-General António Guterres urged Member States to restore the Council’s legitimacy and make it “worthy of the hopes of every man, woman, and child.”
He opened his address with a poignant story about Paul Antonio, a New York mechanic who built the Council’s first ballot box in 1946 and left inside a handwritten message praying for peace. “That humble note reminds us why the Security Council exists: for people,” Guterres said. “The privilege to sit at this table carries a duty — above all — to honor the faith of those people.”
Guterres credited the Council for helping nations emerge from conflict — from Cambodia to Liberia — and for maintaining 80 years without a great-power war. But he warned that its credibility is “fragile” and eroding whenever members act outside the principles of the UN Charter.
Calling reform “imperative and long overdue,” the Secretary-General pressed for an expanded membership to reflect today’s realities — especially the lack of a permanent African seat and underrepresentation of Latin America, the Caribbean, and Asia-Pacific. He endorsed proposals from France and the United Kingdom to limit the use of the veto, arguing that the Council “is not about hegemons and empires, but about parents who have lost their children, refugees flung far from their homes, and soldiers who have sacrificed their limbs.”
In a powerful close, Guterres reminded delegates of the symbolism behind the UN emblem: “It does not bear the laurel wreath of a victor, but the olive crown of a peacemaker. To the privileged few who sit at this table, I urge you — be worthy of that crown.”
Assembly Presidents: Reform Needed to Keep UN Relevant
Meanwhile, the Council of Presidents of the UN General Assembly — representing past and present Assembly leaders — issued a joint statement lauding the UN’s achievements while warning that “comprehensive reform” is essential if the Organization is to remain vital in the 21st century.
“The Charter of the United Nations has saved humanity from the scourge of a new world war,” the statement noted, crediting the UN with advancing decolonization, human rights, development, and international law. Yet it cautioned that paralysis within the Security Council and erosion of multilateralism now threaten the very foundations of global governance.
The Council of Presidents called for a special session of the General Assembly to revitalize the UN’s role in peace and security and, ultimately, a general conference to review the Charter under Article 109. The session, they proposed, should tackle the “crisis of multilateralism,” violations of international law, the escalating risk of great-power conflict — including nuclear threats — and even the potential dangers of artificial general intelligence, which they said requires “an effective international framework” before it exceeds human control.
They also linked reform to leadership renewal, advocating for a transparent, democratic, and inclusive process for selecting the next Secretary-General — with a clear call for gender balance. “In 80 years, there has never been a woman in the position,” the statement said. “A qualified woman candidate should be elected as the next Secretary-General.”
Amid the Organization’s worsening financial crisis, the Presidents urged Member States — especially major contributors — to meet their legal obligations to ensure “a stable and predictable financial foundation” for the UN system.
A Call to Restore Trust
Both messages — from the Secretariat and the Assembly Presidents — converged on one theme: restoring faith in the United Nations at a time when geopolitical division, war, and technology are testing the very ideals upon which it was founded.
As Guterres reminded the Council, “Without a Security Council fit for purpose, the world is in grave danger. ”And as the Assembly Presidents concluded, reform is “fundamentally important to secure the future of succeeding generations — for whom the Charter of the United Nations was established in 1945.”