Guterres urges Security Council reform, cites geopolitical paralysis

September 16, 2026 at 10:55 PM2 min

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UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for urgent Security Council reform on Wednesday, blaming geopolitical divisions among major powers for the body's paralysis. He said power relations no longer correspond to world realities and that redistribution of power must be an absolute priority. He spoke as he addressed conflicts in Gaza, Ukraine, and the risks of runaway artificial intelligence.

Key Facts

Guterres said geopolitical divides among major powers, including powers that violate international law and sit on the Security Council, have paralysed the body.
He called the reform of the Security Council an absolute priority and said there must be a redistribution of power because power relations no longer correspond to the realities of the world.
Guterres said peace in the Middle East will not be achieved without a two-state solution and called for an immediate end to Israeli ethnic cleansing of occupied Palestinian territory.
He said he would be delighted to facilitate trilateral Ukraine peace talks at the UN General Assembly if key parties agree, and that a ceasefire in Ukraine is absolutely essential.
Guterres said the world faces three existential threats: runaway artificial intelligence, the climate crisis, and the intolerable deepening of inequalities.

Security Council Reform

Guterres said geopolitical divides among major powers have paralysed the Security Council. He noted that some powers that violate international law sit on the Security Council. He called the reform of the Security Council an absolute priority and said there must be a redistribution of power. Guterres said power relations no longer correspond to the realities of the world.

Middle East and Ukraine

Guterres said peace cannot be achieved in the Middle East without resolving the Palestinian-Israeli crisis. He called for an immediate end to Israeli ethnic cleansing of occupied Palestinian territory. He said peace in the Middle East will not be achieved without a two-state solution. On Ukraine, Guterres said he would be delighted to facilitate trilateral peace talks at the UN General Assembly if key parties agree. He said it is absolutely essential to reach a ceasefire in Ukraine and create conditions for a just peace.

Artificial Intelligence Risks

Guterres said there is a need to promote a global and coordinated vision to address the threat of runaway AI. He said concerns raised by those on the front lines of AI development cannot be ignored. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei published a blog post last week saying the AI industry must slow the pace of improving the technology's capabilities to allow time for guardrails. Guterres said the world faces three existential threats: runaway artificial intelligence, the climate crisis, and the intolerable deepening of inequalities.