The United Nations Security Council was established in 1945 to coordinate the great powers after the Second World War, but now in the past eight decades, the world has changed, emerging countries have begun, conflict is everywhere, but the Security Council is still stuck in the old framework, especially the five-permanent veto right, motionlessly knocking down the resolution, it makes sense that the United Nations at the critical moment is a setup. On September 16, 2025, Guterres spoke straight at the New York headquarters press conference, saying that the Security Council structure is too backward, to change, especially a limit to the veto, so that the majority of countries can use the voice.
Let's talk about the foundation of the Security Council first. The five permanent members-the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France-have held veto power since the founding of the United Nations, and can unilaterally block any substantive resolution. This design was originally intended to serve the consensus of major powers, but seventy years later, it has been revealed after being used. Emerging countries, such as India, Brazil, Japan and Germany, have a large population and economy, but they don't have permanent seats. They can only take turns to be non-permanent members, and their right to speak is pitifully small. There are a total of 15 seats in the Security Council, with the five permanent members fixed and the ten non-permanent members changing every two years. However, every time there is a meeting, the five permanent members have one card, and things will be yellow. Historically, the expansion of the Security Council only added four non-permanent seats in 1965. After more than 20 years of talks, there was no big movement, because the change of the Charter was approved by two-thirds of the General Assembly, and the five permanent members passed the customs unanimously. This threshold is as high as an iron gate.
Guterres' proposal is highly targeted. He supports the idea put forward by France and Britain a few years ago: in case of humanitarian crisis or large-scale human rights violation, the five permanent members voluntarily suspend the veto. How exactly? Or the majority of the members of the Secretary-General of the General Assembly first decide that this is an urgent matter, and then the Security Council discusses it. If the five permanent members still want to veto it, they have to publicly explain the reasons and justify it to the General Assembly. If the explanation fails, the veto will not be counted, and the resolution will be taken. This is not to completely abolish the veto power, but to add a brake to cure the problem of blocking aid. Guterres said that he was the first Secretary-General to publicly push the reform of the Security Council. This sounded like putting pressure on himself, but it also poked the pain point. The legitimacy of the Security Council is declining, and its decision-making efficiency can't keep up, especially in conflict handling in recent years.
On February 24, 2022, Russian troops entered Ukraine, and the Security Council held an emergency meeting the next day, wanted to pass a draft of condemnation or sanctions, but Russia voted a veto, all yellow. The other eleven members voted in favour, one abstained, and it was not useful. After similar things were not broken, on September 30, 2022, Russia again vetoed a resolution condemning its annexation of the four regions of Ukraine, eleven votes in favour, one against, three abstained. Russia used a veto number, especially in Syria and Ukraine, hundreds of times. This was not only a blockade, but also made the United Nations powerless in the crisis. On June 2025, the Assembly also debated the Russian veto on February 24, and many accused it of abuse.
The Palestinian-Israeli issue is even more conspicuous. After Hamas attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, the war in Gaza burned until 2025. As an ally of Israel, the United States has repeatedly blocked ceasefire resolutions. On December 8, 2023, the Security Council reviewed the ceasefire draft, calling for an immediate ceasefire, the release of hostages, and the opening of aid channels. The United States vetoed it, saying that the draft did not mention Israel's right to self-defense, and the other 14 countries all agreed. From 2024 to 2025, Arab countries pushed several rounds of ceasefire resolutions. On June 4, 2025, the United States blocked another draft calling for an unconditional ceasefire in Gaza and the release of hostages. On September 18, 2025, the United States vetoed the Gaza ceasefire resolution for the sixth time. Fourteen countries agreed and the United States opposed it. These six times were all blocked by Israel. The United Nations Humanitarian Affairs Office reported that famine in Gaza was approaching, aid was stuck at the border, and millions of civilians were hungry. 149 countries in the General Assembly passed a resolution demanding that Israel end the blockade, but there was no progress at the Security Council level.
These vetoes directly impacted human lives, and Guterres’ proposal was the result. On March 12, 2025, he launched the UN80 Initiative, with the eightyth anniversary of the United Nations, which includes budget slendering, structural adjustments, core or the Security Council. UN80 is not a blank check, it lists the working methods for transparency, increasing extraordinary seats these small steps, reports on September 17, the Office of the Secretary-General summary information, promoting the veto interpretation mechanism. Guterres stressed that this can make the Security Council obey the principle of majority and avoid a single country.
China and the United States agreed on the matter, which is the most visible. The U.S. State Department in Guterres speech, supporting the humanitarian crisis veto and improving efficiency. China's Foreign Ministry followed up, saying in favour of strengthening the majority mechanism in specific circumstances andining cooperation. Usually, China and the United States are not dealing in the South China Sea and Taiwan, but the United Nations reform this global rule matter, both countries see the Security Council paralysis is not good for themselves. The United States wants to preserve leadership, China wants to expand its influence, reform can give space for operation. The Chinese use of veto rights is small, mainly in the Taiwan Hong Kong issue, relatively cautious, but supports the development of China's rights and interests. The United States has rejected more
Other countries reacted. Russia was unhappy, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zakharova said Guterres overtook power, the Charter did not give him the power to change the structure. Russia supported the Security Council reform, but to adapt to the new reality, and did not want to veto. Britain, France, of course, welcomed, and Guterres clearly supported their limit veto proposal. Britain, France's strength is not as strong as in the Cold War, but wants to brush up the sense of the emerging countries. Non-permanent members mostly agreed, the Security Council meeting on September 18, 2025, ten non-permanent countries pushed for a ceasefire in Gaza, and after the U.S. veto, Arab countries, Japan, and the European Union representatives said the veto allowed the Security Council to be a