Is UN ineffective in ending wars? Top official says dismissing UN's role in conflicts is misguided

United Nations: A common complaint voiced by world leaders at the recently concluded 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly [UNGA] — amidst the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, and low-intensity conflicts elsewhere — was that the world body's legacy continues to be marked by repeated failures in resolving conflicts.

In their addresses, leaders of many countries expressed regret that the UN — established after World War II to end conflicts — has remained incapable of doing so. They advocated for restructuring and additional permanent seats on the UN Security Council, currently dominated by five major world powers.

The week in New York was fraught with uncertainty and pessimism regarding the organisation's future. Even US President Donald Trump took a shot at the UN calling it a feckless institution and questioning its purpose.

"What is the purpose of the United Nations?" US President Donald Trump asked during his UNGA address last week. "The UN has such tremendous potential. I've always said it. It has such tremendous, tremendous potential. But it's not even coming close to living up to that potential."

Promoting himself as a "peacemaker," he touted his efforts that he said "ended seven conflicts in seven months" and pledged to make the UN "great again."

A senior UN official told TRT World that the UN is already great, cautioning that dismissing the organisation's entire role in wars and conflicts may be misguided.

"Every organisation will be criticised, but what I can tell you is that people need to understand which part of the UN they're angry about," Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, told TRT World in an exclusive interview at the UN headquarters.

"Are they angry that the [UN] Security Council is unable to come together to move forward on Gaza. That's fine. But then it's also important for people to remember that we have thousands of UN workers in Sudan, in Gaza, in Ukraine, in Myanmar and Bangladesh helping people."

The UN comprises a political body of member states, often in disagreement, while the UN staff strives to improve lives daily, Dujarric emphasised.

"The UN is many different things, and people have to understand there's a legislative political part of member states who sometimes have trouble agreeing and then there's also a whole part which is the UN staff which goes out every day trying to make people's lives better," he added.

The Security Council's inaction on Gaza persists, Dujarric added, stating despite losing hundreds of colleagues, UN's extensive staff remains in the besieged enclave, striving to aid the population within limited means.

"You know, the Security Council has been unable to move forward on Gaza. What I can tell you is that we have hundreds of staff in Gaza. It's also important to remind you that we've had more than 300 of our colleagues killed in Gaza," Dujarric said.

Israeli air strikes, shelling, and ground invasion, UN says, have repeatedly targeted or damaged UNRWA [the UN agency providing aid to Palestinian refugees] facilities, such as schools, health centres, and shelters.

Since the Israeli war on Gaza began, over 360 UNRWA personnel in Gaza have been killed, marking the highest UN death toll in a conflict, primarily health workers and teachers killed with their families.

By mid-September 2025, 926 incidents had affected UNRWA facilities, impacting 312 installations and resulting in 845 deaths and over 2,563 injuries among displaced persons.

UN officials state this compels UNRWA to function in increasingly limited safe zones, resulting in recurrent staff displacement and facility closures.

"We are there. We're not leaving. We're trying to use whatever little space is given to us to help the people," Dujarric pledged.

'UNSC is frozen in 1945 architecture'

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has positioned himself as one of the most influential leaders in advocating for the restructuring of the UN Security Council and expanding its permanent membership beyond the current five — US, UK, France, China, Russia.

In his UNGA address, he reiterated, "We will continue to say 'The World Is Bigger Than Five!' until a system is established where the just, not the powerful, prevail."

For decades, African nations have demanded at least one permanent seat on the UNSC.

Kenyan President William Ruto, in his UNGA speech, increased this demand to two seats, stating that the continent, comprising 54 countries, should receive "two permanent seats with full rights, including the veto, and two additional non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council."

Speaking to TRT World outside the UN, Ruto stated reforms are vital for the UN's survival.

"The fact that the UNSC is frozen in 1945 architecture, the fact that international financial architecture benefits the rich more than those who deserve it most in the emerging economies and in poor nations, this is actually a survival for the UN. If it doesn't reform, it will drift into irrelevance," Ruto said.

He noted Africa's under-representation, stating that 54 nations and 1.4 billion people lack a voice despite peacekeeping contributions and instability disproportionately affecting the continent.

He said when African leaders raised the issues about UNSC reform and the international financial architecture reform, "many people thought we were mad."

"Today, every leader accepts that unless that is done, this organisation [UN] is doomed to fail," Ruto said.

Dujarric, the UN spokesperson, admitted that it's time to reform the UNSC, saying "we need to make the Security Council more representative of the world of 2025."

"In 1945 there was a certain world it was representative then and now it needs to change, and the Secretary General has been very vocal about that. The fact that there is not one African permanent seat hits at the centre of the credibility of the Security Council."