Minister of Foreign Affairs Sameh Shoukry published an article on the ministry's blog Monday titled "On United Nations Day: Reform is Essential". He wrote: "In the wake of a shattering war and following months of incessant negotiations, Egypt along with representatives from 50 nations laboured in 1945 to overcome differences and agreed to found the United Nations—an enduring global institution for peace, security, and human progress." After the opening paragraph, Shoukry listed the reasons for why the UN must be reformed. "The UN has clearly fallen short of its creditable aim towards safeguarding international peace and security," he stated. He continued to explain that despite the UN security council being endowed with sufficient powers necessary for the proper execution of its resolutions by the member states of the UN, "unfortunately, sometimes it does not execute its resolutions or properly follow the application of the requirements of its verdicts ... the use of the veto power has been inconsistent with the aspirations of a 193-member general assembly." Near the end of his article, Shoukry wrote that the ministry looks forward to having a new UN secretary general who will lead the reform efforts that should be undertaken on the principles of transparency, impartiality, and accountability. Ban Ki-moon's term as the current UN secretary general will end by 31 December, and the UN is scheduled to appoint a new secretary general on 1 January. In an effort towards better communication with the international community, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs started a blog with articles by diplomats, officials, writers, scholars, and academics to engage in dialogue and exchange views on issues related to the country and its foreign policy. Each article on the blog is offered in both English and Arabic. Source: Daily News Egypt
