Africa to Secure Permanent Security Council Seats – UN Chief

UN Secretary-General announces plans for Africa to gain permanent seats on the UN Security Council, marking a significant shift in global governance and representation.

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has pledged to secure two permanent seats for Africa on the Security Council (UNSC) before his term concludes. He is presently in his second term, which started in January 2022 and will end in December 2026.

The UN Secretary-General pledged on Wednesday during a meeting with journalists in Pretoria, the capital of South Africa. Guterres is currently visiting South Africa, which has become the first African nation to assume the rotating presidency of the Group of 20 leading economies this month.

“Currently, I believe there is a consensus among the P5 [five permanent members] that the Security Council should include two permanent African members. Therefore, we have overcome the most challenging hurdle,” he stated.

The Security Council comprises 15 members, of which five are permanent: Russia, China, the United States, the United Kingdom, and France. These permanent members hold veto power over any resolution. Algeria, Mozambique, and Sierra Leone are currently serving as non-permanent representatives for Africa.

The African Union (AU), representing 55 nations, has long aimed for permanent representation on the United Nations Security Council. In 2005, it established the C-10 group to present and advocate for Africa’s unified stance on Security Council reforms and to garner support for this position.

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Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio stated four months ago that the continent seeks two permanent seats along with two more non-permanent ones. South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has also called for reforms at the UNSC, emphasizing that global security should not be controlled by “a few major powers.”

Russian President Vladimir Putin has expressed that giving the African Union a seat on both the United Nations Security Council and the G20 would acknowledge African nations’ aspirations for stronger representation. Last year, during a summit in New Delhi, India, the bloc was officially welcomed into the G20.

Guterres, who has consistently criticized the outdated structure of the UN Security Council, considers Africa’s underrepresentation within the organization to be unacceptable. In a Security Council debate held in New York this past August, he advocated for reforms that would grant Africa a permanent seat.

On Tuesday, Guterres informed reporters that a committee tasked with reforming the Security Council within the General Assembly is “working seriously.”

He declared, “I am hopeful that I will witness African permanent members in the Security Council before my tenure as secretary-general concludes.”