U.N. Holds Meeting to Mark 80th Anniversary

New York, Oct. 24 (Jiji Press)–The U.N. Security Council on Friday held a meeting to mark the 80th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations. Vassily Nebenzia, Russia’s permanent representative to the United Nations, issued a statement as the current president of the Security Council, which reaffirmed the stance of upholding multilateralism and stressed the importance of the Security Council as a venue for dialogue. The statement did not mention reform of the Security Council, which has long been sought. U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who attended the meeting online, said, “Too often, we have seen members of this body act outside the principles of the (U.N.) Charter,” showing concerns over the situation in Ukraine, which continues to suffer from Russia’s invasion, without directly naming Russia. Reform of the Security Council, including a possible increase in the number of permanent members, “is imperative…for the maintenance of global order and safety,” Guterres said. Kazuyuki Yamazaki, Japan’s ambassador to the United Nations, also stressed the need for the Security Council to have more permanent and nonpermanent members. James Kariuki, Britain’s charge d’affaires at the world body, voiced the country’s support for the idea of adding nations including Japan as permanent members. Ukraine, which was absent from the meeting, jointly issued a statement with the European Union and countries including Japan, condemning Russia by saying that an aggressor talking about the future of the United Nations amounts to an attack on the U.N. Charter. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]