The United Nations Secretary-General has called for the reform of the UN Security Council (UNSC), advocating for Africa to have a permanent seat, citing the continent’s lack of representation. In a high-level debate on Monday, Antonio Guterres emphasized that the UNSC’s current structure has not kept up with the changes in the global environment.
He emphasized that it is unacceptable for the world’s leading peace and security body to lack a permanent voice for a continent with over a billion people and that Africa’s views on peace and security should not be undervalued both within the continent and globally.
The UN Security Council (UNSC) comprises 15 members, including five permanent members with veto power: China, France, Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom. The other 10 non-permanent seats are distributed regionally, with three seats for African states; two each for Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Western Europe and other states; and one for Eastern Europe.
In May, the UN Security Council urged for a greater role for African countries in addressing global security and development challenges.
During the debate, UN General Assembly President Dennis Francis remarked that the UN should accurately reflect the contemporary world. He pointed out that Africa’s continued underrepresentation on the Security Council is unjust and contradicts the principles of equity and inclusion.
Francis stressed that this situation undermines the principle of sovereign equality among nations and highlights the urgent need to reform the institution to mirror the current global reality rather than its state from nearly 80 years ago.
A Strategic Opportunity
Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio, speaking at the UN Security Council, called for Africa to receive two permanent seats and two additional non-permanent seats. He mentioned that the African Union would select the permanent members and advocated for the abolition of the veto power, or if retained, its extension to all new permanent members for fairness.
Carlos Lopes, a professor at the University of Cape Town and former high representative for the African Union, observed that while Africa’s push for better representation is not new, the current geopolitical context presents a “favorable” moment. Lopes noted that Africa’s influence has grown, making it harder to unify the continent’s stance. He pointed to recent advancements, such as the African Union’s inclusion in the G20, as examples of Africa’s successful navigation of geopolitical shifts and efforts to enhance its role in the Security Council.
