Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres' virtual remarks to the Security Council on its eightieth anniversary, in New York today:
Greetings from Hanoi. We meet today on the eightieth anniversary of a body that has shaped the United Nations - and the course of history.
In the spring of 1946, the first ballot box of the Security Council was opened for inspection before voting. To everyone's surprise, there was already a slip of paper inside. It was a message from the box's maker - a local New York mechanic named Paul Antonio.
He wrote: "May I, who have had the privilege of fabricating this ballot box, cast the first vote? May God be with every member of the United Nations Organization, and through your noble efforts bring lasting peace to us all - all over the world."
That humble note reminds us why the Security Council exists: for people. Sincere, hopeful people who, for the last eight decades, have placed their trust in this institution to save them from the scourge of war.
The privilege to sit at this table carries a duty - above all - to honour the faith of those people. And to channel the resources so often spent on war, to the causes of development and peace.
On many pivotal occasions, this Council has delivered on that task.
Together, you have helped Cambodia emerge from genocide and South Africa from apartheid; deployed missions that helped bring peace to Sierra Leone, Timor-Leste, Liberia and beyond; and built a lasting global framework to combat terrorism. Above all, you have given us 80 years without the chaos of a great power war.
The Council is a vital necessity and a powerful force for good. But at the same time, its legitimacy is fragile.
Too often, we have seen members of this body act outside the principles of the Charter - principles we have all freely agreed to as sovereign nations. When that happens, it not only stalls action in the moment; it erodes trust in the entire United Nations project.
It also puts us all in great danger. When one nation flouts the rules, others think they have licence to do the same - and history tells us, with brutal clarity, where that road leads.
Reform of the Security Council is imperative, and long overdue, for the maintenance of global order and safety. This includes expanding the membership.
Almost half of all UN peacekeeping missions - along with numerous special political missions - take place in Africa. Yet Africa has no permanent voice at this table. The Pact for the Future calls on us to correct this imbalance as a matter of urgency.
It also highlights the underrepresentation of Latin America and the Caribbean, while the Asia-Pacific region - home to more than half of humanity - holds only one permanent seat. Expanding the membership is not only about justice; it is also about results. It has the potential to undo deadlocks and offer stability in our increasingly multipolar world.
I have also noted with interest the proposals of France and the United Kingdom to limit the exercise of the veto, and [I] encourage this Chamber to examine them.
The Security Council is not about hegemons and empires. It is about parents who have lost their children, refugees flung far from their homes [and] soldiers who have sacrificed their limbs.
In every shadow of this Chamber, you are surrounded by the ghosts of the dead. But beside them stands something else - the hopes of the living. Listen closely and you will hear the cries of your citizens who rally for peace; the whispers of families who long for safety.
A poet once said, "The greatest prayer of man is not for victory, but for peace." The United Nations emblem does not bear the laurel wreath of a victor, but the olive crown of a peacemaker. To the privileged few who sit at this table, I urge you - be worthy of that crown.
The time has come to open the doors of the Chamber and let in the light. Because without a Security Council fit for purpose, the world is in grave danger. It is our duty to forge a body that can meet the challenges of the next 80 years - one that delivers justice and safety for all.
Paul Antonio the mechanic never sat at this table. He never gave a speech or signed a treaty. But he believed in everyone here. He believed in you. I urge you: honour that trust.
Make this Chamber worthy of the hopes of every man, woman and child.
