Erdogan urges abolition of UN Security Council veto power

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for the UN Security Council's five permanent members to lose their veto power, telling journalists in New York the system is unjust and hinders global stability and peace. He also urged an end to permanent membership, with the General Assembly electing all council members. Abolishing the veto would need a UN Charter amendment backed by two-thirds of the Assembly and ratified by two-thirds of members, including all five permanent members. Russia says the veto should stay.

Written by AI from UN Security Council · not yet reviewed by an editor · Published 27 Sept 2026, 1:49 pm IST

Source

UN Security Council · read the original report ↗

#united nations#unsc veto#turkiye#erdogan#un reform

Desk check · compared with the source

What the desk checked (5)

Erdogan called for abolishing the UNSC veto and permanent membership, seeking a UN model covering all members. — Directly quoted from his remarks to journalists in New York and a September 22 Bloomberg article, as reported in the source.
Ending the veto requires a UN Charter amendment under Article 108: two-thirds of the UNGA plus ratification by two-thirds of members including all five permanent members. — Stated in the source with reference to Article 108; procedural detail appears internally consistent.
The France-Mexico initiative now has 128 supporting states, one short of the number needed to pass a UNGA resolution. — Figure attributed in the source to the French government; 21 recent backers cited, including the UK.
Russia/USSR has cast 163 of 331 vetoes; the US 95, about 28 percent; France and the UK 50 combined, none since 1989. — Figures appear in the source without an named external statistical source.
Russia says permanent members should keep the veto but supports expanding permanent membership. — Attributed to Russia in the source without a named official or document.

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Analysts’ view opinion

AI Strategic Affairs Analyst

Erdogan's demand is almost certain to go nowhere procedurally: under Article 108 of the UN Charter, abolishing the veto requires the assent of the very five states that would be surrendering it. But this is less an institutional blueprint than a strategic play — using the Council's paralysis over Gaza and Ukraine to position Turkiye as a voice for the wider membership and the Global South. Russia's response neatly exposed the fault line: keep the veto, but expand permanent membership.

The amendment threshold is the real obstacle — two-thirds of the General Assembly plus ratification by two-thirds of members including all five permanent members.
Erdogan is leveraging reputational damage to the Council: seven US vetoes on Israeli-Palestinian resolutions in three years, and three Russian vetoes on Ukraine since 2022.
Enlargement is a far more plausible reform path than veto abolition, with all five permanent members having voiced some support for expansion — but no agreement on who joins or whether newcomers get a veto.
The France-Mexico initiative on voluntarily suspending vetoes in mass-atrocity cases has momentum at 128 supporting states, yet its voluntary, non-binding character sharply limits its practical bite.
The P5 itself is not monolithic: France and the UK have not cast a veto since 1989 and back restraint, while Russia, the US and China have defended the privilege firmly.

What to watch — Watch whether the France-Mexico initiative crosses the threshold needed to pass a General Assembly resolution, and whether talk of new seats for African states gains traction — those are the realistic markers of movement.

The story does not establish how many states formally back Erdogan's specific proposal, how Turkiye intends to advance it at the UN, or whether the US and China have responded to this latest call.

Deep dive

Research brief · 8 facts · 8 dates · exam-ready

The brief

Context

The UN Security Council has 15 members — five permanent (US, UK, France, Russia, China) with veto power over substantive resolutions, and 10 elected non-permanent members. The Council has been deadlocked on Israel's war on Gaza, Russia's war in Ukraine and the Strait of Hormuz, with vetoes blocking action. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has now called for the veto to be abolished and permanent membership scrapped altogether, with the General Assembly electing all Council members for fixed terms. Any such change would require an amendment to the UN Charter, which itself needs the consent of all five permanent members.

Key facts

Erdogan, speaking to journalists in New York on Thursday, said: "Let the veto mechanism be abolished… Let us move from a UN model that protects only five members to a mechanism that encompasses all members".
The UNSC has 5 permanent members (US, UK, France, Russia, China) and 10 rotating non-permanent members; one P5 veto can defeat a resolution even if 14 of 15 members vote in favour.
Under Article 108 of the UN Charter, an amendment needs approval by two-thirds of the UNGA and ratification by two-thirds of UN members, including all five permanent members.
The US has vetoed seven resolutions on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the past three years, including five calling for a ceasefire in Gaza; Russia has vetoed three resolutions on Ukraine since its 2022 full-scale invasion.
Historically Russia/USSR has cast 163 of 331 recorded vetoes (nearly half); the US is second with 95 (about 28 percent).
France and the UK have cast a combined 50 vetoes and neither has used one since 1989; most of their earlier vetoes were cast alongside the US.
The 2015 France-Mexico proposal asks the P5 to voluntarily suspend vetoes on mass-atrocity resolutions; 21 states, including the UK, backed it in the last four months, taking support to 128 — one short of the number needed to pass a UNGA resolution, per the French government.
Russia responded that permanent members should retain the veto, though it supports expanding the number of permanent seats; the US and China have previously strongly defended their veto privileges.

Timeline

1947France casts a solo veto related to the Indonesian conflict — one of only two occasions it vetoed alone.
Before 1991The Soviet Union accounts for much of Russia's record 163 vetoes; Rhodesia-related resolutions are the only ones the UK vetoed alone.
1989The last time either France or the UK exercised a veto.
2015France and Mexico table a proposal for the P5 to voluntarily suspend vetoes on resolutions involving genocide and crimes against humanity.
2022Russia launches its full-scale invasion of Ukraine; it has since vetoed three resolutions on the conflict. Analysts Chappell and Svoboda write in Lawfare that such veto initiatives remain 'aspirational'.
Last four months21 states, including P5 member the UK, join the France-Mexico initiative, raising support to 128 states.
September 22Erdogan publishes a Bloomberg article arguing the UNSC's eight-decade-old structure no longer meets the needs of a changing world.
Thursday (in New York)Erdogan tells journalists the veto mechanism should be abolished and the UNGA should elect all Council members.

Who has a stake

Turkiye / President Erdogan — Leading the push to abolish the veto and permanent membership, and to empower the UNGA to elect all UNSC members for set terms.
The P5 (US, UK, France, Russia, China) — Hold the veto and the power to block any Charter amendment; Russia, the US and China defend the veto, though Russia backs expanding permanent seats.
UN General Assembly and its 190-plus members — Erdogan argues their collective will is subject to "the whims of five countries"; two-thirds approval is needed for any Charter amendment.
France and Mexico — Sponsors of the voluntary veto-restraint initiative on mass atrocities, now backed by 128 states.
African nations — None hold permanent membership; the US, China, UK and France have backed adding African seats in any expansion.
Aspirant permanent members (Brazil, Germany, India, Japan) — Backed by the UK and France for permanent seats, but expansion still needs all P5 to agree.
Populations in Gaza and Ukraine — UNSC deadlock and vetoes have blocked ceasefire and other firm resolutions affecting them.

Why it matters

The veto explains why the world's top security body cannot act on the biggest conflicts of the day, from Gaza to Ukraine, feeding a wider legitimacy crisis for the UN. Reform is procedurally trapped: abolishing or diluting the veto requires the very five states that would lose power to consent under Article 108. For India, which the UK and France back for a permanent seat, the debate shapes whether expansion — and any new veto rights — can ever move forward.

UPSC angle

Prelims pointers

UNSC composition: 5 permanent members (US, UK, France, Russia, China) with veto plus 10 elected non-permanent members; total 15.
Article 108, UN Charter: amendments need two-thirds of UNGA plus ratification by two-thirds of members, including all five permanent members.
Veto tally: Russia/USSR 163 of 331 vetoes; US 95 (about 28 percent); France and UK 50 combined, none since 1989.
France-Mexico initiative (2015): voluntary P5 restraint on vetoes in mass-atrocity cases; support now 128 states, one short of a UNGA majority threshold.
UK and France back permanent seats for Brazil, Germany, India and Japan, plus African countries; no African state currently holds a permanent seat.
Erdogan's proposal: abolish the veto, end permanent membership, and have the UNGA elect all UNSC members for set terms.

Mains framing

Erdogan's call to abolish the UNSC veto restates a long-standing grievance: a body designed eight decades ago, in which, as he argues, the will of more than 190 countries is subject to the whims of five, is neither representative nor able to build trust. The evidence of dysfunction is concrete — the US has vetoed seven Israel-Palestine resolutions in three years, five of them Gaza ceasefire texts, while Russian vetoes have blocked any firm resolution on Ukraine, and historically Russia/USSR and the US account for 258 of 331 vetoes. Yet the reform pathway is self-limiting: Article 108 requires all five permanent members to ratify any Charter amendment, so the P5 must consent to surrendering their own privilege, and Russia has already said the veto should stay while the US and China have strongly defended theirs. Softer routes exist — the France-Mexico proposal for voluntary veto restraint in mass-atrocity cases, now at 128 supporters including the UK — but analysts note such commitments are non-binding, "couched in voluntary language" and lack buy-in from the most frequent veto users, leaving them aspirational. Expansion of membership, including African seats and permanent seats for Brazil, Germany, India and Japan, is the more plausible but still Charter-bound option, and as Ibrahim Gambari observed, "the status quo is not really interested in change". The realistic way forward lies in incremental measures — expansion, veto-restraint pledges and greater UNGA assertiveness — that build political cost around veto use rather than formal abolition.

Key terms

UNSC veto: Power of the five permanent members to defeat any substantive Security Council resolution single-handedly, even against 14 favourable votes.
P5: The five permanent UNSC members: the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Russia and China.
Article 108, UN Charter: Amendment clause requiring two-thirds UNGA approval and ratification by two-thirds of members, including all five permanent members.
France-Mexico initiative (2015): Proposal for a collective, voluntary P5 agreement to suspend vetoes on resolutions concerning genocide and crimes against humanity.
UN General Assembly (UNGA): Plenary body of all UN member states; Erdogan wants it strengthened and empowered to elect all UNSC members for set terms.
Non-permanent members: The 10 UNSC seats filled on a rotating basis, without veto power.

Practice questions

"The UN Security Council veto is both the guarantor of great-power buy-in and the chief obstacle to Council effectiveness." Critically examine in the light of recent deadlocks over Gaza and Ukraine.
Discuss the procedural barriers to UN Security Council reform under Article 108 of the UN Charter. Why have expansion proposals fared better politically than veto abolition?
Evaluate whether voluntary, non-binding initiatives such as the 2015 France-Mexico proposal on mass-atrocity vetoes can meaningfully restrain permanent members.

Grounded only in the source report — figures and dates are the source's, not inferred.

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