Global powers that themselves violate international law sit in Security Council: Guterres

In a scathing commentary, UN chief António Guterres has said that global powers that themselves violate international law sit in the Security Council, as he asserted that reform of the 15-nation global body “must be an absolute priority”.

Secretary General Guterres also underscored the need for “redistribution of power.”

“Well, let’s be clear. We have geopolitical divides, and in these geopolitical divides, we have powers that themselves violate international law and sit in the Security Council. And that has been paralysing the Security Council, as we know,” Mr. Guterres told reporters Wednesday (September 16, 2026).

“That is why the reform of the Security Council must be an absolute priority. It is unacceptable to have a Security Council with a composition that reflects the world of many decades ago instead of reflecting today’s world.”

“And that is a factor of paralysis,” the UN chief said while addressing a press conference at the world headquarters ahead of the opening of the high-level week of the 81^st session of the UN General Assembly.

Mr. Guterres said paralysis of the UN Security Council has created a situation in which “because the example coming from the biggest powers is not a good example, every country around the world feels that they are entitled to do whatever they want.

And they know that they will do it with impunity because the Security Council, that is the organisation that is supposed to maintain peace and security in the world, is paralysed.

“That impunity has created this environment in which we see more and more countries violating international law”, international humanitarian law and human rights law, and “doing it in total impunity.

“And let’s be clear. The question is a question of power. And the question is that the way power is distributed and power is used in our world does not allow multilateral institutions to act effectively,” he said.

Emergence of new powers

Responding to another question on whether he sees organisations like BRICS to supplement or emerge as alternatives in terms of reflecting the power shift, Mr. Guterres said that the institutions today reflect power relations of many decades ago, most of them at the end of World War II.

“But the world is changing, and we are seeing the emergence of new powers. And today, if one looks at the global economy, every single day the percentage of developed countries in global GDP diminishes a little bit, and every single day the percentage of emerging economies in the global GDP increases a little bit.

“So, there is a change in what is the relative weight of countries in the world today in relation to what it was when these institutions were created. So, the power relations no longer correspond to the realities of the world. There must be a redistribution of power.”

“And one thing that is essential in this redistribution of power is the reform of multilateral institutions. And if there are two multilateral institutions where this reform is essential, it’s the Security Council and the Bretton Woods system,” he said, referring to the 1944 agreement heralding a new international monetary system in which the external values of foreign currencies were fixed in relation to the U.S. dollar.

The week-long General Debate, which will bring Heads of State and Government, Foreign Ministers, leaders and envoys from around the world to the UN Headquarters, commences on September 22, when U.S. President Donald Trump will address world leaders from the iconic green podium in the UNGA Hall.

This will be the final high-level UNGA week for Mr. Guterres, whose second five-year tenure as head of the United Nations ends in December 2026.

When asked what the one lesson he would take away from his last 10 years as the world’s top diplomat is, Mr. Guterres said, “The lesson that I would take away is that when we have a world that is becoming more and more multipolar, it is essential to reform the multilateral institutions to be able to make those institutions effective in relation to the promotion of peace, development, and human rights that are the three pillars of the UN.”