Paraguay presses for Taiwan’s UN membership

Paraguay’s President, Santiago Peña, has urged the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to admit Taiwan as a full member, framing the exclusion of the island as a long-standing injustice that undermines the credibility of the multilateral system.

Speaking in New York during the organisation’s 80th session on September 24, Peña stated that “Taiwan deserves a place in this forum” and described its absence as “an affront that weakens the legitimacy of our institutions”.

As China has steadily gained diplomatic ground in Latin America, Paraguay remains the only South American state to maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taipei, a relationship dating back 67 years. Peña argued that the alliance is grounded in “shared democratic values” rather than material gain, acknowledging that it entails economic costs but stressing “the value of doing what is right has no price”.

The Taiwanese embassy in Asunción publicly thanked the Paraguayan leader for raising the matter before the 193 UN members, noting that 23.5mn Taiwanese “deserve a space in multilateralism”.

The Paraguayan president connected his call for Taiwan’s inclusion with a broader demand for UN reform. He advocated a more representative Security Council, the elimination of veto powers, and greater consideration for Latin America in the selection of the organisation’s leadership.

Peña also expressed alarm at rising military activity around the Taiwan Strait, warning that “increasingly aggressive exercises and constant incursions” risk escalating into a crisis destabilising Asia and the global order.

The UN officially recognises the People’s Republic of China as the sole legitimate representative of China under UN Resolution 2758, passed in 1971, which transferred China’s seat from Taiwan to Beijing. UN officials have long interpreted this resolution to mean Taiwan is part of China, effectively excluding Taiwan from UN membership and most UN agencies.

However, this position is increasingly contested by several countries, which argue that Resolution 2758 did not address Taiwan’s sovereignty or preclude its international participation. Any new membership application would require Security Council approval, where China holds veto power.

Beyond Taiwan, the Paraguayan leader denounced what he described as a “crisis of democracy” worldwide, pointing to political violence and restrictions on rights in countries such as Venezuela and Nicaragua, and reaffirming his support for Israel amid the war in Gaza.

“Our democracy, that democracy that for decades has been the guarantee of the most fundamental human rights, embodied in that magnificent instrument that is the ‘Universal Declaration of Human Rights’—the imperishable achievement of the United Nations system—is besieged from all quarters and spectrums, both from the left and the right,” he stated.

Domestically, he highlighted Paraguay’s 5.2% economic growth in the first half of 2025 and a fall in extreme poverty to 4.1%, attributing these outcomes to institutional reforms and social policy.

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