Erdogan: UN far from resolving crises in Islamic world

By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

The United Nations is far from resolving the crises in the Islamic world, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said in an address to the 76th UN General Assembly session, Yeni Shafak newspaper reported on September 27.

In Erdogan’s words, the organization does not take a clear and solution-oriented stance on any issue that concerns approximately 2 billion Muslims and cannot go beyond being an ineffective instrument of the international system in this respect.

Since its establishment on October 24, 1945, the UN has so far been content with only advising on and condemning the crises faced by Muslims, Erdogan added.

Addressing the session, the Turkish president also listed the most important problems of the Muslim world one after another in his speech. The speech, which touched on many points from Palestine to Kashmir, from East Turkestan to Azerbaijan, once again shed light on the fact that Muslims are not sufficiently represented under the UN umbrella.

The world's largest Muslim minority in Indonesia or India is not represented within the UN hierarchy. Other Muslim countries such as Turkey are trying to stand out with the initiative of their leaders, Erdogan stressed.

Commenting on the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, Erdogan stated that the organization has turned into a political apparatus of the Saudi Arabian government since the general secretariat is located in Jeddah.

Moreover, he underlined that the organizations such as the Gulf Cooperation Council or the Arab League are frequently affected by the rivalry and hostilities of the member states.

Erdogan also criticized the current organizational structure of the UN, reminding that only five countries (US, UK, China, France and Russia) have veto power in important decisions that bind the whole world.

These countries can veto any bill brought to the UN agenda, depending on the course of their relations and competition. Especially, regarding the Syrian conflict or Israel's violations against Palestine, this situation has frequently emerged. While Russia vetoed the Syria proposals put forward by the U.S. and its allies, the U.S. did not pass any bills against Israel, the report underlined.

Erdogan continues to criticize the crooked veto system of the UN, through the slogan "The world is bigger than five", which he reiterates at every chance. This justified criticism raised by Turkey at the UN is being accepted by more and more countries.