UN Chief says U.S. puts power over international law

AWANI

The U.S. believes it power mattes more than international law, says UN Chief Antonio Guterres, warning that the founding principles of the organisation is under threat.

Transcript

00:00The U.S. believes its power matters more than international law.

00:05That's the warning from United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres,

00:09who said core principles of the U.N. was built on,

00:13including equality between member states, are now under threat.

00:19Guterres told BBC Radio 4 that what seems to matter most in Washington

00:23is the exercise of power and influence,

00:26sometimes even overriding the norms of international law.

00:30At the same time, he called for reforms within the U.N.

00:32to tackle challenges facing its 193 member states.

00:37Guterres also criticized the U.N. Security Council as ineffective,

00:41saying veto powers are being used to further individual member interests,

00:45with European countries remaining permanent members.

00:48He called for changes to the council's makeup,

00:51saying it needs to be more representative and less prone to deadlock.

00:55The Secretary-General made his comments in the wake of recent U.S. actions,

00:59including military interventions in Venezuela

01:02and discussions around seizing Greenland,

01:04as he warned that power politics risk overriding multilateral solutions.

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