Pope urges UN reform after Ukraine war, Covid 'limits'

Pope Francis in his new book called for the reform of the UN after the pandemic and the Ukraine war showed its 'limits'

Pope Francis in his new book called for the reform of the UN after the pandemic and the Ukraine war showed its 'limits'

Pope Francis said the need to reform the United Nations was "more than obvious" after the Covid-19 pandemic and the Ukraine war exposed its limits, in an extract of his new book published Sunday.

The Argentine pontiff said Russia's February invasion of Ukraine highlighted the need to ensure the current multilateral structure -- especially the UN Security Council -- finds "more agile and effective ways of resolving conflicts".

The organisation was founded to prevent the horrors of two World Wars from happening again, but although the threat represented by those conflicts was still alive, "today's world is no longer the same", said Francis.

Francis denounced the unequal distribution of vaccines as a "glaring example" of the law of the strongest prevailing over solidarity.

The pope also proposed guaranteeing food, health, economic and social rights on which international institutions would base their decisions.

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Originally published as Pope urges UN reform after Ukraine war, Covid 'limits'