The United Nations is facing a quiet crisis of authority. At the General Assembly, African leaders like Kenyan President William Ruto and Ghanaian President John Dramani Mahama made it clear that the organization’s long-term survival is on the line. By keeping its top power structure frozen in the post-WWII reality of 1945, the UN is undermining its own global legitimacy.
President Ruto put the issue plainly to world leaders, warning that reforming the Security Council “is not a favour to Africa,” but “a necessity for the United Nations’ own survival.” When an institution claims to maintain world peace yet structurally excludes 54 sovereign nations representing 1.4 billion people from its permanent decision-making table, its moral authority begins to erode. President Mahama echoed this urgency, declaring, “Security Council reform is not a favour to Africa; it is an imperative for the legitimacy, credibility, and survival of the United Nations.”
The danger for the UN is immediate. If it refuses to reflect modern geopolitical realities, it risks becoming irrelevant to the majority of humanity. Furthermore, applying international law selectively—acting swiftly in European conflicts while moving cautiously in African crises like Sudan—destroys global trust. An organization that enforces rules unevenly cannot expect the Global South to respect its leadership.
If the United Nations wants to remain relevant in the 21st century, it must adapt. The choices made today will determine whether the UN evolves into a truly representative global body or suffers the same collapse as the League of Nations before it.