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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the United Nations Security Council must be reshaped into a fairer and more inclusive body that can meet the expectations of the international community. The remarks came in a message issued for United Nations Day and the 81st anniversary of the organization.

Erdogan said global challenges such as wars, humanitarian disasters, climate change, hunger, poverty, racism, xenophobia and Islamophobia show that the UN's founding mission has become more important, not less.

Message on UN Day

The message was published on the NSosial account of the Presidency's Directorate of Communications. Erdogan congratulated the United Nations on its 81st anniversary and praised UN staff, including Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and employees serving in Turkiye and in other parts of the world.

Erdogan said the UN has shouldered major responsibilities since its first day in maintaining international peace and security and in promoting development and prosperity, and was founded after two world wars with the determination to protect future generations from the灾难 of war.

Call for UN reform

In his message, Erdogan said humanity still longs for a future in which the shared will set out in the UN Charter is realized, wars end and lasting peace prevails. For the organization to carry out its responsibilities properly, he said, all countries should defend the UN Charter more strongly and support reforms that increase the effectiveness of the UN's main organs, in the common interest of humanity.

At this point, Erdogan said, turning the UN Security Council into a fairer and more inclusive structure able to meet the expectations of the international community has become particularly important.

Crises cited as evidence

Erdogan described what he called a genocide in Gaza that has cost the lives of more than 74,000 Palestinians, along with crises and conflicts spreading to other parts of the world, as showing how urgent that need is.

UN80 initiative and Istanbul

Erdogan said Turkiye supports the UN80 Initiative launched by Secretary-General Guterres and is working closely with the organization toward the goal of making Istanbul a UN center.

Erdogan closed the message by wishing a happy United Nations Day and vowing to press on with efforts to make the international system and the UN at its center more effective and more inclusive, in the belief that a fairer world is possible.

Key takeaways

• Erdogan called for a fairer, more inclusive UN Security Council that reflects international expectations.
• The message was issued for United Nations Day and the UN's 81st anniversary.
• Erdogan backed Secretary-General Guterres' UN80 Initiative and work to make Istanbul a UN center.
• He cited Gaza and other conflicts as proof of the urgency of UN reform.