UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for reform and has observed that the African continent is underrepresented in a changing world with evolving dimensions. The United Nations Chief has called for the UN Security Council (UNSC) to reform its outdated structure and assign Africa a permanent seat at the table, stressing that the continent is underrepresented. Addressing the Council on recently during a high-level debate, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said the composition of the UNSC has failed to keep pace with a changing world.
“We cannot accept that the world’s preeminent peace and security body lacks a permanent voice for a continent of well over a billion people … nor can we accept that Africa’s views are undervalued on questions of peace and security, both on the continent and around the world,” he said.
The 15-member UNSC consists of five permanent members with veto power – China, France, Russia, the United States and the United Kingdom – while the remaining 10 nonpermanent seats are allocated regionally.
The 10 seats include 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 UNSC called for the role of African countries to be strengthened in addressing global security and development challenges. UN General Assembly President Dennis Francis said at the debate that the UN must reflect the world as it is. “The fact that Africa continues to be manifestly underrepresented on the Security Council is simply wrong, offending as it does both the principles of equity and inclusion,” he said. “It runs counter to the principle of sovereign equality of states and calls for the urgency to reform this institution to reflect the world as it is now, rather than what it was nearly 80 years ago.”
Speaking at the UNSC, Sierra Leone President Julius Maada Bio said Africa demands two permanent seats in the UNSC and two additional nonpermanent seats. “The African Union will choose the African permanent members. Africa wants the veto abolished. However, if UN member states wish to retain the veto, it must be extended to all new permanent members as a matter of justice,”
he said.
Carlos Lopes, a professor at the University of Cape Town who previously served as a High Representative for the African Union (AU), has informed the media that African attempts to have better representation are not new, but current geopolitics have made this current moment “quite favorable”.
Lopes has added “there is a competition for Africa’s votes; Africa’s bloc has however become much more difficult to actually align with one position or another. The Africans have been able to navigate these geopolitical tensions very well. We have seen it with the membership of the G20 being expanded to include the African Union. Now it’s another attempt by the Africans to push the envelope and try to do it at the Security Council.”
Partially, some African countries believe that time has come for the world to swing global focus towards Africa. They also think that the global neglect towards the evolving problems emerging in Africa is due partly because of their strategic absence in the United Nations Security Council. In this context, many African health analysts have also reiterated that Africa needed more to have been done during the Covid pandemic. Currently, many involved with the health sector are referring to dengue and the emerging threat created by the Mpox scenario. They are now suggesting that such global neglect would not have taken place if Africa had permanent representation in the UN Security Council.
This mesmerizing aspect has been noted particularly by geo-political analysts who have started focusing on Africa partly because of what is happening in the region of Sudan. Attention in this regard has also particularly been drawn towards South Sudan. The situation prevailing currently in that country has recently been described by Shoko Noda, the UN Assistant Secretary General and UNDP Crisis Bureau Director as the “World’s youngest nation at a crossroads”.
South Sudan imbued with a great sense of hope, became an independent State thirteen years ago. South Sudan currently faces profound humanitarian challenges and this is raising anger and dissatisfaction instead of happiness.
S. Noda has mentioned that during the latest observance of their Independence Day she was disappointed to note that there was very little in terms of celebration. This was an indication that thirteen years later the youngest nation in the world, barely into its adolescence, faces profound challenges.
Apparently, at the heart of South Sudan’s challenges lies a humanitarian crisis of staggering proportions. Socio-economic analysts have predicted that seven million of the country’s 12.4 million people are projected to experience crisis-level hunger this year, and nine million are in dire need of humanitarian assistance. The seriousness of the situation cannot be exaggerated.
In addition, one in ten lack access to electricity. Seventy percent also cannot access basic healthcare. These are fundamental human rights that the vast majority of people are deprived of.
The UN Official has also recalled the disappointment pertaining to the humanitarian situation when the Official visited that country in March. The Official met women and children displaced by conflict – some for the second time in their lives – in a transit centre in Malakal, the capital of Upper Nile state. They had nothing and were fully reliant on aid. Their plight left a very sad impression on the Official’s mind and heart. It was also clear that as South Sudan marked its 13th independence anniversary, it faced suffering at a pivotal moment in its nation-building journey.
Socio-economic strategists have pointed out that humanitarian aid alone cannot untangle the intricate web of challenges facing many countries in Africa. They feel that a holistic approach is required—one that lays the groundwork for self-sufficiency, peace and sustainable development. This approach is required with greater seriousness for helping to shape a positive trajectory of the concerned countries for generations to come. Existing institutions have to be bolstered to foster stability and empower the youth—the driving force behind any nation’s aspirations for progress and prosperity.
Humanitarian aid alone cannot untangle the intricate web of challenges facing many African countries. A holistic approach is required—one that lays the groundwork for self-sufficiency, peace and sustainable development.
Central to this would be the empowerment of women and girls, who face disproportionate challenges and vulnerabilities in the face of conflict, displacement and climate change. Gender-based violence (GBV), child marriage and maternal mortality rates are also alarmingly high, underscoring the urgent need for targeted interventions that prioritize not only the rights and dignity of women and girls but also their personal security. This apparently is particularly true in South Sudan. If this is done carefully, we can expect the fulfillment of hope, aspirations and securing work opportunities.
We have noticed that these measures have been adopted in several South Asian and South Eastern Asian countries. The net result in India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan and Singapore has been very satisfactory. The literacy rate among women have also reached higher dimensions. It should be this way.
The United Nations is reportedly working hard to improve the lives of women and girls in South Sudan. This has also moved forward through an improved judicial process carried out by Courts in Juba, set up with UNDP support. These judicial institutions focus on addressing violence against women. The UN is also assisting in ensuring women’s inclusion in peacebuilding processes, promoting gender equality and creating opportunities for women and youth to thrive. It has been a good beginning but it is also clear that more needs to be done.
With 75 percent of the population comprising young people- both women and youth- they represent both South Sudan’s greatest challenge and its most promising asset. Neglecting to invest in them is being considered as neglecting the future of the country itself. Their voices must be heard, their aspirations nurtured and their potential unleashed.
It is such a scenario that is currently influencing the African voice to demand greater participation within the UN Security Council.
African countries today feel that with the right support mechanism, they have the potential to create a future defined by hope, greater prosperity and stability for all. The alternative is a deepening of an already profound and protracted crisis- and that has to be avoided.
Africa with its potential resources can then become a symbol of development- just as China is today.
Muhammad Zamir, a former Ambassador, is an analyst specialized in foreign affairs, right to information and good governance, can be reached at <muhammadzamir0@gmail.com>
