President William Ruto has lashed out at the United Nations Security Council’s permanent members, accusing them of fuelling global instability by taking sides in international conflicts and failing to uphold impartiality.
Speaking at Peking University in Beijing, China, on Wednesday morning, Ruto also targeted the escalating global tariff wars among major economies, warning that the resulting economic polarization is deepening inequality and undermining the rules-based international order.
President Ruto criticized the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council—China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States—for taking sides in global conflicts where they are expected to remain neutral and uphold international peace.
''The five permanent members with individual powers have been made to have an unacceptable peace and security architecture. The Security Council, once a beacon of peace and diplomacy, now has one permanent member invading one country while another member takes sides in the conflict. This is in direct contradiction to the council's own resolutions,'' Ruto stated.
He made the remarks against the backdrop of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, sparked by Russia’s invasion and attempts to annex regions it considers historically tied to the former Soviet Union.
The United States has openly opposed the annexation, providing military aid to Ukraine—a stance that could potentially shift under the current leadership of President Donald Trump, whose foreign policy directives are already signalling a different tone.
Further, the president noted that the five nations live in denial, with the relevance of the UNSC being called into question.
''The permanent members today live in denial and resist reform. Even as the UNSC becomes less and less legitimate and its relevance is being put to question,'' he added.
Nonetheless, the President’s remarks come at a time when his government has faced criticism for allegedly taking sides in the humanitarian crisis unfolding in neighbouring Sudan.
The backlash follows Kenya’s hosting of the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) in Nairobi, where the group signed a charter at the historic Kenyatta International Convention Centre (KICC) to establish a parallel government.
Global Financial Architecture
Ruto also took aim at the global financial system, describing it as outdated and incapable of addressing modern economic realities.
Though he has voiced similar concerns in the past, the President sharpened his criticism of the IMF and World Bank, accusing them of clinging to obsolete mandates and calling for a complete overhaul of their roles and structures.
Additionally, the ongoing trade wars between the U.S. and other global powers featured prominently in Ruto’s speech, with the President sharply criticising the key players for fuelling economic division.
''The global multilateral financial architecture is simply outdated. The IMF was established to buttress the gold standard and fix the exchange rate system—a system that collapsed 50 years ago. The World Bank, on the other hand, was set up to rebuild Europe. That assignment has long been overtaken by events,'' Ruto stated.
''We must confront the sovereign truth. The post-war multilateralism system is broken, dysfunctional, and no longer fit for purpose. The escalating tariff trade war may be its final crippling blow.'' By
