Calls by African leaders for equitable representation on UN Security Council gain momentum

Addis Ababa, September 27, 2024 (FBC) – The call for a more inclusive and representative Security Council resonated loud and clear at the UN General Assembly on Thursday, as African leaders demanded global powers address the longstanding inequity in the Council’s composition.

They articulated a compelling case, highlighting how the legacy of colonialism and its lingering effects have left the continent disproportionately excluded.

This exclusion is not merely a matter of representation, it directly impacts Africa’s ability to influence discussions on critical issues, such as conflict resolution, climate change and sustainable development.

The leaders emphasized the urgent need for the 15-member Security Council to reflect contemporary realities, arguing that its current structure is antiquated and ill-suited to address the complex challenges of the modern world.

They pointed out that the failure to incorporate a broader spectrum of voices within the Council compromises the UN’s legitimacy and effectiveness, particularly in responding to Africa’s pressing peace and security challenges.

The first speaker of the day, Malawi’s President Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera, emphasized that how UN Member States navigate their relationships – whether through cooperation, competition, or conflict – will “ultimately determine” the world we shape for future generations.

President Chakwera addressing the General Assembly.
“So, when we sit in this chamber to deliberate on these dynamics between Member States, we are, in fact, designing and deciding our future,” he stated.

However, if nations are serious about cooperation, they must with unity and urgency in fixing and reforming the United Nations and other multilateral institutions.

“One fix that we from Africa demand is for the United Nations to embrace democracy in the Security Council by giving Africa two permanent seats with veto power,” President Chakwera declared.

Highlighting increasing support for greater representation of African States and their interests on the Council, he added, “the time to fix this is now”.

President Ruto addressing the General Assembly.
He highlighted that while his country is committed and is investing to promote stability and security within the region and beyond, we must “candidly acknowledge” that international cooperation, in its current form, has clear limitations.

At the same time existing international security architecture, represented by the Security Council, hampers efforts to maintain international peace and security.

“The Council is dysfunctional, undemocratic, non-inclusive, unaccountable, autocratic, and opaque,” he stressed.

An institution that excludes 54 African countries, representing 1.4 billion people, while allowing one nation to veto decisions of the remaining 193 Member States, is unacceptable, he added.

“We must urgently seek to make the Security Council truly representative, inclusive, transparent, effective, and accountable.”

Gambian President Adama Barrow echoed those sentiments, recalling that the Summit of the Future which preceded the high-level debate, had determined that human actions were largely responsible for the challenges the global community faces today.

“Therefore, it is within our power to ably address the disasters that continuously trouble our nations,” he said.

“To succeed, however, we must recommit to implementing the resolutions of the Summit of the Future to tackle such critical global challenges as climate change, poverty, transnational crimes, and conflict.”

In doing so, the UN System, especially the Security Council, needs urgent comprehensive reforms, he added.

“We must equally strive for a more representative, just, and inclusive United Nations to shape the world we so dearly want.”

Also addressing leaders, King Letsie III of Lesotho reiterated the primary responsibility of the Security Council for maintaining international peace and security.

Referring to Chapter VIII of the UN Charter, on regional arrangements, he urged greater and more effective cooperation between the Council and regional organizations.

“The strengthening of this cooperation is crucial for the swift resolution of regional conflicts,” he said, stating that the Security Council must reflect the UN membership for its decisions to enjoy greater legitimacy.

“We therefore advocate for a comprehensive reform of the Security Council, supporting the common African position known as the ‘Ezulweni Consensus’,” he said.

The UN should continue to be “a place where all our aspirations for a better and secure life for humanity must be championed,” he emphasized.

Teodoro Nguema Obiang Mangue, Vice President of Equatorial Guinea, also referred to the Ezulweni Consensus as well as the Sirte Declaration.

In line with these positions, Africa has called for this injustice to be corrected for the past two decades, he said, reiterating demands for two permanent seats with all their commensurate privileges alongside five additional non-permanent seats.

He pointed that the proliferation of conflicts is “further proof of the obsolescence incapacity, and inefficiency of the UN Security Council today”, arguing that instead of solving conflicts, the Council is the place where geostrategic interests are played out.

These are resulting in conflicts being left unresolved and prolonged suffering of those affected.

The Security Council must end its “obsolete composition which dates back to 1945” that disadvantages Africa, he declared.

Joining the calls for reforms, Prithvirajsing Roopun, President of Mauritius, highlighted that both small States and large ones alike “deserve a voice”.

Alongside the need for Security Council reform, he also pointed to patterns of current unsustainable consumption and production, which are exacerbating injustices and inequalities.
“We are at a watershed moment,” he declared, welcoming the recent adoption of the Pact for the Future.

He also urged the international community to recognize that the architecture of global institutions reflects the realities of today.

“Mauritius believes that inclusivity is a necessity, and not a choice. Small States and large alike deserve a voice,” he said, adding that Africa and small island developing States “have their rightful place in a reformed Security Council.