Khalilur Rahman calls for restoring trust in the UN and reforming the Security Council.

Photo: Collected

International Desk: In his opening address at the 81st Session of the UN General Assembly, the President of the General Assembly and Bangladesh Foreign Minister Dr. Khalilur Rahman laid special emphasis on restoring the effectiveness of the United Nations, urgent reform of the Security Council, and rebuilding global trust. The main theme of the current session has been set as: "Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: An Effective UN for All."

Highlighting the structural inequality of the Security Council, Dr. Khalilur Rahman stated that despite being the largest regional member group of the UN and one of the primary partners in peacekeeping operations, Africa has no permanent seat on the Security Council. Therefore, Africa must be given a proper place at the decision-making table. He explicitly noted that Africa's demand for representation is not a matter of charity; it is a question of justice and the UN's own credibility.

He stressed the need to make the Security Council more transparent, representative, and aligned with current geopolitical realities. In this regard, he expressed support for the General Assembly's Intergovernmental Negotiations process.

Khalilur Rahman highlighted three key strategies to restore global trust in the UN—being candid and realistic about its own failures, undertaking concrete institutional reforms, and extensively engaging civil society and scientists in decision-making.

Expressing dismay over growing global inequality and rising military spending, he pointed out that while progress on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) has stalled, official development assistance from OECD countries dropped by 23 percent in a single year to $175 billion. In contrast, global military expenditure has surged to nearly $3 trillion.

Referring to ongoing conflicts in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine, Myanmar, and the Middle East, he stated that international law and the principles of civilian protection must never be applied selectively or with bias. He also highlighted positive examples of UN humanitarian efforts, including the Rohingya refugee camps in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, and operations in Haiti.

Warning world leaders about the misuse of technology and the risks of Artificial Intelligence (AI), the General Assembly President noted that the misuse of AI in sensitive sectors such as water supply, power grids, and the military could pose an existential threat to human civilization. He urged the swift creation of evidence-based global policies and regulatory frameworks ("guardrails") in collaboration with scientists and experts to prevent an AI arms race.