Statement
Statement summary
President Ruto reflected on the founding of the United Nations, noting that it had emerged from the failures of the League of Nations, which collapsed because it did not adapt, enforce its rules or maintain legitimacy. He warned that institutions fail “not for lack of noble ideals, but when they drift into irrelevance”. Today, the UN faces the same danger, with the Security Council still frozen in 1945 structures and unable to respond effectively to crises. Against a backdrop of wars in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and beyond, alongside climate disasters and inequality, he asked bluntly: “Is the United Nations relevant to the demands of our time?”
The UN stands at a crossroads: renewal or decay. On peace and security, “its voice is too often drowned out by great power rivalries”. Kenya has consistently contributed to peacekeeping, most recently leading the Multinational Security Support Mission in Haiti. Despite being “underfunded and under-equipped”, Kenyan officers restored critical State institutions, reopened schools and secured infrastructure. He asked: “If so much could be achieved with limited resources, what more could have been accomplished if the UN fraternity had truly acted together?”
Mr. Ruto underlined Kenya’s stance on human rights and humanitarian law, stressing: “We cannot condemn suffering in one place and turn a blind eye in another”. He expressed grave concern over the humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, calling for a permanent ceasefire, unconditional release of hostages and a credible political process towards a two-State solution. On Sudan, he urged all parties to respect sovereignty and reject division, affirming support for a unified Sudan. He called climate change “the single greatest threat of our age and the greatest opportunity of our time”, highlighting Kenya’s renewable energy success and Africa’s leadership through the Nairobi and Addis Ababa climate summits.
He called for urgent reform of the global financial architecture and the United Nations itself. He criticized the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank for “punishing poor countries while rewarding the rich”, and advocated democratizing decision-making to serve all nations fairly. He reiterated Africa’s long-standing demand for two permanent and two non-permanent seats on the Security Council, declaring Africa’s exclusion “unacceptable, unfair, and grossly unjust”. Reform, he said, is not a favour to Africa but essential to the UN’s survival.
Kenyan President William Ruto told world leaders at the UN General Assembly on Wednesday that Africa’s exclusion from permanent membership of the Security Council is “unacceptable, unfair and grossly unjust.”
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>> Read also the UN News story in Kiswahili about the declaration made by the President of Kenya at the General Debate.
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He demanded reforms that would provide at least two permanent seats with full rights – including the power to veto – and two additional nonpermanent seats.
“You cannot claim to be the United Nations while disregarding the voice of 54 nations. It is not possible,” Mr. Ruto said in his address to the annual high-level debate.
He pointed out that Africa dominates much of the Security Council’s agenda, provides some of the largest peacekeeping contingents and “bears the heaviest costs of instability, yet remains the only continent without a permanent seat at the main table.”
“Reforming the Security Council is not a favor to Africa or to anybody. It is a necessity for the United Nations’ own survival,” he said.
“If the United Nations is to remain relevant in this century, it must reflect today’s realities, not the postwar power arrangements of 1945.”
Policing Haiti
Turning to Kenya’s role in Haiti, Mr. Ruto described Multinational Security Support (MSS) mission – which was authorized by the UN Security Council in October 2023 to help improve security and policing – as both a success and a cautionary tale about global security governance.
He said Kenya “stepped forward, stepped up, and deployed our officers” to confront rampant gang violence in Port-au-Prince. But the mission remains “underfunded, underequipped and operates below 40 per cent of its authorised personnel strength.”
Despite the constraints, he said, “the MSS has delivered results many thought were impossible.” Government institutions once overrun by gangs were restored, schools reopened, kidnappings have declined and Haiti’s airport and seaport have resumed normal operations.
“This begs the question: if so much could be achieved with limited resources and stretched personnel within months, what more could have been accomplished if the United Nations fraternity had truly acted together in solidarity with the people of Haiti?” Mr. Ruto asked.
He urged the Security Council to ensure the “hard-won gains” achieved so far by the Kenyan-led mission are consolidated as the UN body deliberates on the next steps.
The Kenyan President also denounced the “humanitarian catastrophe” in Gaza, while calling for the unconditional release of Israeli hostages.
He also expressed deep concern over the “needless war” in Sudan and highlighted his country’s efforts to transition to renewable energy to help the global effort to slow global warming.
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