BY HAILE DEMEKE
ADDIS ABABA -The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) reform that allows permanent seats and veto wielding power to Africa and enables Africans to decide on their peace and security matters have become the order of the day, world leaders and other politicians said.
Addressing the 3rd Turkey-Africa Partnership Summit last week, Turkish President RecepTayyip Erdogan stated that depriving the continent of 1.3 billion people of permanent representation in the world’s most powerful decision making body is ‘a grave injustice.’
“I believe that we should join forces in order for Africa to be duly represented at the Security Council.” We are determined to wage this struggle for the future of our children even though those benefiting from the status quo are annoyed by our efforts.”
“The incidents we have gone through over the past few years have laid bare the wrongfulness of abandoning the fate of the entire humanity to the mercy of the five UNSC members,” President Erdogan added.
Russia, a permanent UNSC member, stands in the forefront in backing this Africa’s longstanding quest for fair representation in the council. Russia’s Ambassador to Ethiopia Evgeny Terekhin told The Ethiopian Herald that the calls for UNSC reform have become louder aimed at expanding membership by including, among others, African countries.
Ambassador Terekhin; noted, however, that the UNSC reform is a complex and lengthy task that may entail the entire architecture of global governance. “Russia believes that it is important to solve one more task, namely, to find ways to safeguard the interests of all international actors and to ensure their proper representation on multilateral platforms.”
“We consider the pressure with the involvement of the UNSC, the threat of ‘punitive’ resolutions, unlawful unilateral sanctions against states and creating a toxic atmosphere in the media about it is counterproductive. We are sure there are more efficient methods, based on the principle of ‘African solutions to African problems.’”
Sharing the above rationale, Dire Dawa University Political Science and International Relations Researcher and Lecturer Surafel Getahun said that some of the UN permanent members have been manipulating the privileges to exert unwarranted pressures on weaker nations. The permanent members have also been employing the veto wielding right as a political tool.
Noting Africa’s quest gains the support from some global powers, Surafel stressed that Europe’s entitlement of three UNSC seats whilst Africa has none, showcases the undemocratic nature of the council. The situation also paves the ways for global powers to pursue their own agenda and at the expense of developing nations.
The academician further indicated that the reform would rectify the UNSC undemocratic decision making culture and enable Africa’s voice to be heard and its people to decide on their matters. “The political consequence of securing veto wielding rights is enabling Africans to refuse or approve resolutions without the involvement of the third party.”
The reform will avoid the interference of third parties on African issues and promotes the principle of ‘African solutions to African problems.’ As the Turkish President correctly puts it, it is time to transform the UNSC and include Africa in the decision-making process, he remarked.
The Ethiopian Herald December 22/2021
