ADDIS ABABA –United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres has urged the UNSC to conduct reform and provide Africa with permanent seat so that the continent which is home to over a billion people would have representatives.
During a high-level debate titled: “Addressing the historical injustice and enhancing Africa’s effective representation in the UN Security Council,” the UN Chief said that it is not acceptable that there is non-permanent member representing Africa – a continent of well over a billion people.
African voices, insights and participation must be brought to bear across the UNSC’s deliberations and actions, he stated.
According to the Secretary General, the Security Council was designed by the victors of World War II and the world has changed but the composition of the Council has not kept pace.
“We cannot accept that the world’s preeminent peace and security body lacks a permanent voice for a continent of well over a billion people, nor can we accept that Africa’s views are undervalued on questions of peace and security, both on the continent and around the world,” he said.
Likewise, UN General Assembly President Dennis Francis said, the fact that Africa continues to be manifestly under represented on the UNSC is simply wrong offending as it does both principles of equity and inclusion.
He went on saying, it runs counter to the principles of sovereign equality of states and calls for the urgency to reform this institution to reflect the world as it is now rather than what it was nearly 80 years ago.
“Today, I addressed the UN Security Council on the urgent need for UNSC reform, emphasizing the historical injustice of Africa’s under representation. We must reflect the world as it is, not as it was 80 years ago. The credibility of the UN depends on meaningful change. I commend Sierra Leone for prioritizing this crucial issue” Francis posted on X.
During the meeting, participants from the UK and US have supported the urgency of reforming the UNSC to provide Africa with permanent seats.
In his statement by Lord Collins of High bury, Minister for Africa and the UN, at the meeting expressed the United Kingdom’s belief that multilateral institutions remain indispensable though they are struggling under the strain of new global challenges.
For these institutions to represent the world of today, Collins said that they must be as effective as they can be.
“So, we will work tirelessly with our allies and partners to strengthen them. For this Council, that means expanding our membership in both categories, to include permanent African representation as a matter of urgency.”
Recognizing the obstacles the UNSC encounter to reform are significant, he noted that the United Kingdom is determined to overcome them.
On her part, US Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said that the United States supports permanent representation on the Council for countries from Africa, as well as Latin America, and the Caribbean.
“For our part, the United States is advocating for language in the Pact for the Future that supports increasing both permanent and non-permanent seats on the Security Council. And we will push to ensure that the Summit of the Future is a platform for meaningful progress, one that creates a pathway for urgent action on Security Council reform. At the Summit and beyond, we will keep working to achieve Council reform,” she said.
She mentioned that reforming and strengthening the UNSC Council does not just for the good of African nations, but to further international peace and security. “ Because we all benefit when African leaders are at the table.”BY STAFF REPORTER
THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD WEDNESDAY 14 AUGUST 2024
