Estonian president: Deadlocked UN Security Council needs reforms

TALLINN – Estonian President Alar Karis is about to deliver a speech at the UN General Assembly late on Tuesday night Estonian time, focusing on the inevitable need to take concrete steps to reform the UN and its Security Council so that the world organization that has become deadlocked can meet the expectations it has set itself.

Due to the Security Council's inability to resolve conflicts, the UN system has become deadlocked and its credibility has rapidly declined. Karis will also stress the need to support Ukraine and hold Russia accountable as the aggressor, the president's office said.

"If one country tries to trample on the UN Charter in every way, the international community must even more firmly defend the UN Charter and its fundamental principles. Estonia has strongly supported a reform of the UN, especially the Security Council, which is more necessary than ever," Karis said in the press release. "We see more and more that the broader UN membership's focus on Ukraine is not a given, especially as the crisis in the Middle East has diverted the attention of many countries elsewhere. Therefore, more effort is needed to maintain strong and broad international support for Ukraine."

So President Karis will call on world leaders at the UN to reform the Security Council and support Ukraine.

Karis is attending the high-level opening week of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly in New York from Sunday to Thursday. His meetings and speeches will focus on the obvious need to reform the UN, its Security Council, and strengthen support for Ukraine. The meetings will also aim to increase cooperation with countries far from Europe.

In New York, the Estonian president will participate in one of the highlights of the UN General Assembly's high-level week -- the Summit of the Future. The meeting is organized by the UN secretary-general in response to the member countries' desire to improve global cooperation and set the course for further UN action to ensure global development, peace and security. At the summit, the Estonian head of state will lead a discussion focusing on reducing the digital divide between countries.

Karis will open a high-level fringe meeting held on the initiative of Estonia, co-organized by Liechtenstein, Guyana, Sierra Leone, Singapore and Kuwait, to discuss ways to preserve and strengthen the rules-based world order.

Karis will also participate in a meeting organized by Ukraine with the G7 and other countries that have security agreements with Ukraine to discuss continued support for Ukraine and matters related to the country's reconstruction efforts.

The president will also speak at the first ever high-level meeting on the threats posed by rising sea levels, initiated by the UN secretary-general.

In addition, a meeting of the presidents of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania with UN Secretary-General António Guterres has been scheduled, along with a meeting of the presidents of the Baltic states and Poland. Furthermore, Karis is scheduled to have conversations with Philemon Yang, president of the UN General Assembly, and Rabab Fatima, the UN High special representative for least developed countries, landlocked developing countries and small island developing states. He will also attend a reception by US President Joe Biden.

Karis will have several bilateral meetings in New York with other state leaders, with an emphasis on global partners. He is also scheduled to meet with representatives of US businesses, open Estonia's new honorary consulate in New York, and meet local Estonians at the Estonian House to jointly commemorate the anniversary of the Great Escape.

The president's wife, Sirje Karis, will participate in the UN high-level week program for the spouses of heads of state. Together with Ukraine, Estonia will host a high-level sidelines event focusing on the situation of children, the discussion at which will be moderated by Sirje Karis and Olena Zelenska, wife of the president of Ukraine.

Sirje Karis will also attend a lunch meeting with the US first lady Jill Biden and a reception of the wife of the president of Turkey, as well as familiarize herself with the activities of Fountain House, a mental health center.