New Zealand has criticised the United Nations Security Council for often being mired in paralysis and failure.
Foreign Minister Murray McCully, speaking at the UN headquarters in New York, said the council's member nations needed to move away from "simply reading out statements of national positions" and instead hold genuine discussions about solving emerging conflicts.
Mr McCully pointed to the six months it took for a mini-mission to be sent to Burundi, a time lapse he said seriously diminished the scope for quiet diplomacy in the African nation.
"I know that for some members the concept of early engagement raises questions of intrusion into the internal affairs of sovereign governments," Mr McCully told a General Assembly debate titled UN, Peace and Security.
"This is attention that needs careful management and constructive engagement in the council.
