UNITED Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres has vented his frustration at the security council’s failure to end wars in Gaza, Ukraine, Sudan and beyond.

Addressing the 15-member council on Wednesday, he said: “Peace demands action. And peace demands leadership.

“Instead, we’re seeing deepening geopolitical divisions and mistrust.”

He highlighted that, amid repeated violations of the UN charter and international law, conflicts have been multiplying and becoming more deadly, with civilians paying the highest price.

The council has been blocked from taking any action on Gaza because the United States has repeatedly wielded its veto.

Washington is also a party to the conflict through its provision of around 80 per cent of the weapons used by Israel in its war on the Palestinians.

Similarly, Russia is able to veto any council resolutions relating to its “special military operation” in Ukraine. 

On Sudan, there are divisions among security council members, with some supporting the warring rival generals.

The secretary-general said peace would be possible in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan if council members united and followed the UN charter and international law.

“A divided council cannot,” he said. “It is imperative that council members spare no effort to work together to find common ground” as they have in done overseeing 11 peacekeeping operations on three continents and authorising humanitarian aid to global hotspots.

Slovenia, which holds the security council presidency this month, chose the topic Leadership for Peace for its signature event during the annual gathering of world leaders at the UN general assembly — and invited leaders from the 15 council members to attend.

International Committee of the Red Cross president Mirjana Spoljaric Egger called for a renewed respect for international humanitarian law. 

She told the council: “Wars can be fought and won while adhering to the letter and the spirit of the law.”

The Red Cross today sees warring parties overlooking their international humanitarian law obligations “to justify violations, destruction and impediments to humanitarian action,” Ms Spoljaric added.

Liberia’s former president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, now a member of the Elders group of former global leaders founded by Nelson Mandela, was equally gloomy.

“Preserving peace should be the primary responsibility of any leader. Yet the leadership for peace that the world desperately needs is sorely lacking today,” she said.

Noting that the security council is “widely seen to be ineffective,” Ms Johnson Sirleaf called for it to be reformed to tackle challenges of the world of 2025 and beyond, rather than remaining “a relic of 1945,” when the UN was established.