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Adopting Resolution 2788 (2025), Security Council Seeks to Bolster UN Toolkit on Peaceful Conflict Resolution

Meetings Coverage
Security Council

9962nd Meeting (AM)

SC/16125
22 July 2025

'Peace Is Choice,' Says Top UN Official as Delegates Debate Peace Mechanisms under Chapter VI of UN Charter

"Peace is a choice, and the world expects the Security Council to help countries make that choice", said the United Nations chief during an open debate on promoting international peace and security through multilateralism and peaceful settlement of disputes.

At the outset of the meeting, the 15-member organ unanimously adopted draft resolution 2788 (2025) (to be issued as document S/RES/2788(2025)) aimed at strengthening mechanisms for the peaceful settlement of disputes By its terms, the Council urged all Member States to utilize effectively the mechanisms for pacific settlement of disputes, as outlined in Article 33 of the UN Charter, including negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, resort to regional agencies or arrangements, or other peaceful means of their own choice. It also expressed its readiness to utilize the investigative mechanism provided in Article 34 of the UN Charter.

Furthermore, it called on Member States to support the Secretary-General's mediation and preventive diplomacy efforts, which should involve well-trained, impartial and geographically and linguistically diverse mediation experts, and to enhance cooperation with regional and subregional organizations. It also emphasized the importance of inclusive participation of women and youth in conflict prevention and dispute resolution efforts.

As well, the resolution requested that the Secretary-General submit recommendations for further strengthening the mechanisms for the peaceful settlement of disputes one year after its adoption, and that the Council convene an open debate to review them.

"The architects of the United Nations Charter recognized that the peaceful resolution of disputes is the lifeline when geopolitical tensions escalate, unresolved disputes fuel the flames of conflict, and States lose trust in each other," said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.

The UN Charter outlines several key tools — including Chapter VI — for fostering peace, he said, also referencing Action 16 of the Pact of the Future, which calls on Member States to recommit to all mechanisms of preventive diplomacy and the peaceful settlement of disputes. "This is needed now more than ever," he stressed.

From Gaza to Ukraine, from the Sahel to Sudan, Haiti and Myanmar, and many other parts of the world, conflict is raging, international law is being trampled, and hunger and displacement are at record levels, he continued. Pushing security further out of reach, terrorism, violent extremism and transnational crime remain persistent scourges.

While divisions and escalatory discourse obstruct the Council's ability to act effectively, there have been some inspiring examples of forging solutions to global problems, he said, spotlighting the Black Sea Initiative and the Memorandum of Understanding with the Russian Federation. From the Sevilla Conference on Financing for Development, to the Oceans Conference in Nice, to the Agreement on Marine Biological Diversity of Areas Beyond National Jurisdiction and the Cybercrime Treaty, multilateral progress is being made. Likewise, the Pact for the Future, adopted in 2024, demonstrates a clear recommitment to strengthening the UN's collective security system, with a particular emphasis on prioritizing preventive diplomacy and mediation.

Underscoring the need to ensure that "this Council reflects the world of today, not the world of 80 years ago", he said it should be more representative of today's geopolitical realities. Also, Member States must honour their obligations under international law, he asserted, noting the critical contribution of the International Court of Justice.

Diplomacy — while not always successful in preventing conflicts, violence and instability — holds the power to stop them, he emphasized. While competition between States is "a geopolitical reality", cooperation — anchored in shared interests and the greater good — is "the sustainable pathway to peace", he underscored.

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