Turkish PM calls for UN reform over inactivity in Syria

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has stated the United Nations Security Council needs a major reform. He made the statement alongside criticism he leveled at the organization regarding its failed efforts to end the ongoing conflict in Syria.

Deutsche Welle and Focus News quote Erdogan as saying of the Security Council that, "If we must wait for one or two permanent members, then Syria's fate is really in great danger." This was a clear unambiguous reference to past Russian and Chinese vetoes at the Security Council against proposed resolutions that condemned the Assad government in Syria. He clearly believes this to be a fundamental flaw within the structure of the organization. He accordingly states that, "It's time to change the structure of international institutions, starting with the UN Security Council." He went on to say that, "Nobody can claim the UN Security Council is built upon a fair structure. We have left the world to the mercy of five permanent members -- whatever they say happens." Furthermore, he reckons that the UN Security Council is losing its legitimacy through its failure "to implement an effective policy towards events in Syria." The ongoing Syrian conflict is estimated to have at the very least 20,000 Syrians dead, with much of the country's major cities lying in ruins and a large number of its inhabitants refugees in neighbouring countries such as Lebanon, Turkey and Jordan.