European Council president Charles Michel calls for Security Council reform

President of the European Council Charles Michel called for a reform of the Security Council in order to make it more ‘inclusive, legitimate, and effective.’

The Security Council is composed of 15 member states, including five permanent members and 10 members that are elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly.

Speaking before the UN Security Council on Wednesday, Michel drew on the current conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East, and Sudan, and criticized the failure of some permanent Council members to live up to their responsibility in securing global peace.

He reminded nations that having a seat on the Council is not a privilege, but a responsibility.

“A permanent seat on this Security Council is not a privilege. It is a responsibility, a grave responsibility bestowed on only five nations to be the guardians of world peace.”

Michel warned that a failure to punish crimes against humanity risks leading to their normalization.

“When these crimes go unpunished, these crimes become normal, they become the way of the world, they become the law. When crimes go unpunished, the victim loses faith.”

France supports the expansion of the Security Council

President of France Emmanuel Macron shared a similar sentiment as Michel, and said the interest of some members hindered the progress of the Security Council. He suggested increasing the Council’s representation will render the United Nations more effective.

“That is why France, and I reiterate it here, supports an expansion of the Security Council. Germany, Japan, India, and Brazil should be permanent members, along with two countries from Africa chosen to represent the continent,” he said in his speech at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday.

Macron also raised concerns about the further escalations in the Lebanon.

The French President said that “Hezbollah for too long has been running an untenable risk of dragging Lebanon into a war,” and that “Israel cannot, without consequence, just expand its operations to Lebanon.”

“There cannot be a war in Lebanon. This is why we urge Israel to cease this escalation in Lebanon, and to Hezbollah to cease missile launches to Israel,” Macron said.

He reminds all parties to respect their obligations along the Blue Line, the demarcation line that divides Israel and Lebanon.

At the start of the UN General Assembly, the EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said a path towards peace starts with a ceasefire in Gaza.

In his speech, Macron similarly called for an immediate ceasefire, the release of all hostages, and the delivery of humanitarian aid en masse in Gaza.

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The French President said the Security Council should work towards a two-state solution now that the military capacity of Hamas has been dismantled.

He adds that the necessary measures need to be taken “to preserve the link between Gaza and the West Bank, to respect the restoration of the Palestinian Authority and its functions, and also to ensure the reconstruction of the territory and to once again make life possible.”