Saudi Gazette report NEW YORK — The Kingdom has called for reforming the UN to meet the challenges facing the world today. Addressing the Security Council on “maintenance of international peace and security,” the Kingdom's Permanent Representative to the UN Abdullah Al-Mo'allemi said here on Monday night that UN agencies in their current form continue to fall short of achieving the aspirations and hopes of member nations and effectively addressing current issues and problems. “The most important matter we need today is to review some concepts and institutions. It is important to realize that what was suitable for the mid-20th century is no longer appropriate for this century,” he said. “We must recognize that the UN system is currently in urgent need of a comprehensive reform to rejuvenate and restore its vitality. Accordingly, it is reasonable to say that your esteemed Council should start considering how to increase its efficacy, credibility, and the legitimacy of its representation.” He said the Middle East region has witnessed in the past seven decades at least 15 wars, most of which were associated in one way or another with the Palestinian question. These wars and atrocities prove that the international community, represented in the Security Council, has failed to end the Jewish occupation. The Palestinian people are still deprived of self-determination and establishing their independent state in accordance with international legitimacy resolutions adopted by the UN. The international community has failed to protect people from massacres committed by authorities that have lost their legitimacy. Rwanda was an example of paralysis and the inability to contain horrific incidents that are still a heavy burden on the conscience of the world. Similar is the case with Syria today where the killings and intimidation of the Syrian people continue unabated. These violations occur while the international community is unable to achieve any progress in delivering humanitarian assistance, let alone achieving a fair political settlement. The international community has failed to address current dangers that have taken new forms, such as the threat of international terrorism. Combating this phenomenon has often been in the form of interim and regional solutions that have not dealt with the fact that terrorism is a global phenomenon, disappearing from one place only to appear elsewhere. Furthermore, terrorism is not solely a security issue, but an intellectual issue as well, said Al-Mo'allemi. He said the international community has not yet been able to lay down the foundations and rules capable of helping countries to overcome post-war and turmoil phases. “We have taken note of countries, such as Liberia and Sierra Leone, which keep oscillating between phases of war and peace. Other countries, such as Afghanistan and Libya, have fallen into turmoil,” he said.
