UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres says vetoes have paralysed many possible decisions the Security Council could take in crises around the world and he'd like to see the world body able to act without the blocking votes.

The five permanent members of the UN Security Council - China, France, the UK, US and Russia - have the power to veto any "substantive" resolution.

Mr Guterres, who's visiting New Zealand, has told TVNZ1's Q+A programme he would like to see the United Nations and the Security Council "working in a way that corresponds to how the world is today".

"And the fact is that the vetoes have paralysed many of the possible decisions that the Security Council could take in very dramatic crises we have around the world," he said.

Asked does he support scrapping the power of veto, Mr Guterres said, "The point is that this is not my competence. This is the competence of the General Assembly. And what I want is a consensus in order to have reform of the Security Council in which everybody can feel comfortable."

When asked what his personal view is, the Secretary General said, "I would like an ideal world in which a Security Council could act without vetoes and with a perfect representation of all countries in the world.

"But I know that that doesn't exist and that will not exist in the near future."

Please find the full transcript attached and interview here.

Q+A, 9:30pm Mondays on TVNZ 1 and one hour later on TVNZ 1 + 1.

Streamed live at www.tvnz.co.nz

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