This article was originally published by the People’s Dispatch under the headline “African Nations Push for Urgent UN Reforms and Call Current Format Illegitimate” on 27 September 2024.
In the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, heads of state from African countries reiterated their demand for an urgent reform in global decision making and greater representation of their continent in the Security Council.
The African leaders claim that their current exclusion from the crucial decision making institutions is a legacy of colonialism and demanded urgent changes.
They underlined that highlighting their exclusion is not merely an attempt to claim representation but to gain real say in crucial decision making on issues directly affecting the African countries and their future, such as peace and security challenges, conflict resolution, climate change, and sustainable development.
Leaders from countries such as Kenya, South Africa, Malawi, and others noted in their remarks during the General Debate that the current 15 member Security Council does not represent the current reality of the world. One of the reasons it has been totally inefficient in addressing the crucial issues affecting the world today including the issues of the war in Gaza and Israeli occupation.
They also highlighted how the UN Security Council’s failure to reflect the diversity of the world puts a question mark on the legitimacy of the UN itself.
Kenyan president William Ruto alleged that the Council has become “dysfunctional, undemocratic, non-inclusive, unaccountable, autocratic, and opaque” primarily because it excludes 54 nations and their 1.4 billion people while allowing one nation to veto decisions made by the 193 other members.
The African leaders invoked the Ezulwini Consensus and other international conventions and agreements while talking about the need for reforms in the UN.
The Ezulwini Consensus was adopted as the common position of the African Union (AU) on international relations and the UN in 2005. The document puts the demand for at least two permanent seats in the UN security council with all the powers which other permanent members have along with five non-permanent positions for the African continent.
While making the point of how reform is the need of the hour, several African leaders termed the current structure of the UN Security Council as obsolete which only reflects the realities of the world in 1945.
South Africa’s president Cyril Ramaposha had reiterated the demand for reforms on various occasions. “We have got the capacity, we have got the knowhow and Africa needs to be given its rightful place in the UN systems and its various structures,” he had said last week.
During his address at the UN session he reiterated that “Africa stands ready to play its role in building a safer global order by participating in the work of the UN Security Council on the basis of respect and acceptance.”
During his opening speech at the current session of the UN General Assembly, UN Secretary-General António Guterres also supported the call for reforms at the UN, asking for a permanent seat for Africa in the UNSC.
Several African countries have also highlighted the need to reform the international financial institutions along with the UN claiming it is crucial for unleashing the development potential of the low-income countries currently trapped in servicing their debts.
Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima told the UNGA session that “countries of the Global South cannot make meaningful economic progress without special concessions and a review of their current debt burden.”
Several other countries, including all the members of BRICS have supported the call for reforms in the UN with the view of making it more representative and efficient.
China, for example, has promoted the position that “the reform in the UN should be conducive to safeguarding multilateralism and the role of the UN, increasing the voice of developing countries in international affairs, and boosting the enforcement capacity and management efficiency” of its agencies.
Featured photo: United Nations Security Council. Photo: UNSC.
