UN Remains Indispensable, but Its Credibility Faces Growing Test

China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi chairs a Security Council debate on the UN Charter and the UN-centered international system, as member states warned that rising conflicts and geopolitical divisions are testing the credibility of the world body.

By: ATN News Team

UNHQ, New York: The Security Council held a ministerial-level debate Tuesday on defending the UN Charter and strengthening the UN-centered international system, exposing both the continued importance of the United Nations and the deep political divisions weakening its ability to act.

Secretary-General António Guterres warned that the principles of the UN Charter are under “profound strain,” citing rising conflicts, geopolitical division, attacks on civilians, external interference in wars, expanding weapons flows, and growing disregard for international law. He said the world is facing the highest number of conflicts since the founding of the United Nations

The debate, chaired by China during its May presidency of the Security Council, focused on “upholding the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and strengthening the UN-centered international system.” The Council’s official schedule listed the meeting as part of its work on the maintenance of international peace and security.

Guterres called for renewed investment in diplomacy, conflict prevention, and peaceful settlement of disputes. He also repeated his call for long-delayed Security Council reform, including permanent African representation, arguing that the Council must better reflect the world it is expected to serve.

The meeting showed broad agreement that the United Nations remains central to international peace and security. But it also underscored the limits of that consensus. Member States defended the Charter while disagreeing sharply over how its principles are applied, who violates them, and whether the current system still has the political will to enforce them.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi urged countries to recommit to the UN Charter and warned against “double standards” in international affairs. He criticized unilateral military action and sanctions imposed outside the Security Council framework, saying such actions undermine global peace and stability

The United States emphasized sovereignty, efficiency, accountability, and institutional reform, arguing that the UN must produce results and avoid becoming trapped in process. Washington’s message reflected a broader concern among some member states that the UN system must prove its value at a time of rising conflict and budget pressure.

Russia used the debate to reject Western criticism and again challenged the language of a “rules-based order,” which Moscow sees as a political framework used by Western powers outside the UN Charter. Russia’s ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, also accused the United States of failing to grant a visa to Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alimov to attend the meeting, calling it a breach of Washington’s host-country obligations. Reuters reported that the United States did not grant the visa, according to Russia.

For smaller and medium-sized states, the debate carried a more direct concern: whether the Charter can still protect countries that do not have veto power, nuclear weapons, or major-power alliances. Several delegations called for stricter adherence to international law, more transparency, and limits on great-power overreach.

The meeting highlighted the central paradox facing the United Nations. Nearly all speakers defended the UN-centered system, but the same system remains blocked by the political rivalries of its most powerful members. The UN is still the only universal forum where states can argue, negotiate, and seek legitimacy. Yet each time speeches defend principles but practice ignores them, its credibility weakens.

The Security Council’s structure remains part of that debate. The five permanent members—China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States—retain veto power, while large regions, including Africa, still lack permanent representation. That imbalance has become harder to defend as conflicts and crises increasingly affect countries with limited influence over Council decisions.

Tuesday’s debate did not resolve those contradictions. It did, however, make them harder to ignore.

The United Nations remains indispensable because no other institution carries the same global legitimacy or legal foundation. But it is no longer untouchable. Its future credibility will depend not on how often states praise the Charter, but on whether they are prepared to respect it when doing so limits their own power.