Africa demands its seat at the table. Will it get one? |
During the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in September, African leaders revived the call for reforming the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to grant Africa a permanent seat on the UN’s top decision-making body. Voices by African leaders are backed by the Global South, the Caribbean, and Eastern European nations, which observe that the UNSC’s current structure is not only outdated but is also marginalizing a continent at the center of today’s global challenges.
In his address, Kenyan President William Ruto called for an end to what he termed an indefensible historical imbalance, stating that the much-needed reforms should guarantee Africa at least two permanent seats on the UNSC.
South African President Cyril Ramaphosa warned that the current UNSC structure was entrenching inequality at the expense of global justice. At the same time, Nigerian President Bola Tinubu termed Africa’s exclusion as a credibility crisis for the UN itself.
The US, Russia, China, France, and the UK are the only permanent members of the UNSC, with Africa currently having rotating members on the council in a non-permanent position.
According to Prof. David Kikaya, an international relations expert and council member of the South Eastern Kenya University, a permanent seat on the UNSC would not only amplify Africa’s........