President William Ruto has called on the United Nations Security Council to adopt bold reforms to address the rapidly evolving global challenges.
Speaking at the Summit of the Future plenary in New York, he criticized the current multilateral system for its failure to adequately address pressing issues like climate change, inequality, and debt.
Ruto warned that, without immediate reforms, the world faces an unprecedented crisis.
“Today, we have no choice but to reject outdated systems and re-imagine a framework of international cooperation that works for all 8 billion people,” Ruto stated.
He highlighted the urgent need to redesign the international financial system, strengthen partnerships for global security, close the digital divide, and invest in human capital. Ruto noted that only 17% of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) are on track, mainly due to unfulfilled financial commitments.
“Developing countries, particularly in Africa and the Global South, are facing severe funding shortages, and the gap is widening,” he said, emphasizing that the ongoing UN reforms must correct the historical injustice of Africa’s lack of permanent representation on the UN Security Council. He called this exclusion a matter of fairness that needs urgent attention.
Ruto also informed the General Assembly of the Kenya-led Multinational Support Mission’s progress in Haiti, despite limited resources. He said the mission, which had once seemed impossible, is now making tangible strides toward peace.
“What looked like mission impossible is now a present and real possibility for peace in Haiti,” he declared.
The President further reiterated Kenya’s commitment to expanding its forest cover to 30% by 2030, primarily through the planting of 15 billion trees in an initiative driven by the youth.
“Two weeks ago, I launched ClimateWorX, a program that will employ 200,000 young Kenyans in sustainable public works focused on ecological restoration and infrastructure,” he said.
Earlier, during the Summit’s interactive dialogue session, Ruto underscored the need to tackle structural and monetary issues that weaken multilateral financial institutions and disproportionately affect developing nations. He pointed to limited fiscal capacity, rising debt, unfair credit ratings, and uneven interest rates as key obstacles to achieving the SDGs.
“The fourth International Conference on Financing for Development in Spain next year may be our last chance to implement significant reforms to meet the SDGs,” he cautioned.
