Leaders of member states called for reform at UN, says Guterres

During the 78th UN General Assembly last month, world leaders criticized existing multilateral institutions and called for reform, said UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Wednesday.

"Without exception, leaders spoke of the importance of multilateral solutions. But leader after leader told me that our current multilateral institutions are not delivering-and called for reforms," said Guterres during the Common Agenda meeting at UN headquarters.

Guterres said he had 141 bilateral meetings during the General Assembly, giving him the opportunity to listen to the opinions of leaders from member countries on this matter.

"There was strong criticism of the mismatch between the institutions of global governance, and the economic and political realities of our world," said Guterres.

The 78th General Assembly took place in New York on Sept. 19-26. With 189 UN members addressing the world body, the main goals they pushed for included sustainable development goals, climate change, conflict zones, and calls for reform.

There have been repeated demands for reform at the UN by many international leaders, including Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

During his address at the General Assembly last month, Erdogan said the UN Security Council no longer works to ensure global security but instead is an arena for its five permanent member states to engage in strategic confrontations.