US seeks two permanent seats for Africa in UN security council

US seeks two permanent seats for Africa in UN security council

The United States says it will support the creation of two
permanent seats for Africa on the United Nations (UN) security council.

 

Linda Thomas-Greenfield, US ambassador to the UN, spoke on
Thursday while delivering a speech to the council on foreign relations.

 

The ambassador also said the US will support the inclusion
of a first-ever non-permanent seat for a small developing island nation on the
council.

 

Each year, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) elects
five new members from different geographical zones for two-year terms on the
council.

 

Africa has three seats that are rotated among countries on
the continent in the 15-member council.

 

“The problem is these elected seats don’t enable African
countries to deliver the full benefit of their knowledge and voices to the work
of the council, to consistently lead on the challenges that affect all of us —
and disproportionately affect Africa,” Thomas-Greenfield said.

 

CLAMOUR FOR INCLUSION


African countries have long clamoured for equal
representation in what is believed to be the most powerful UN body.

 

In 2017, Tijjani Bande, Nigeria’s then-permanent
representative to the UN, described the security council as old-fashioned and
undemocratic.

 

Bande asked the UN not to cede veto power of the global
community to a few countries.

 

Babatunde Nurudeen, permanent representative of Nigeria to
ECOWAS, had also demanded a restructuring and expansion of the UN security
council.

 

Nurudeen said it would correct the injustices to Africa and
reflect the interests of all the constituent regions.

 

Ibrahim Gambari, chief of staff to former President
Muhammadu Buhari, pointed out that Nigeria’s projection to be the third most
populous nation in the world after India and China by 2050, is a strong enough
case for the country not to be excluded from the international decision making
table.

 

Other African countries have also called for inclusion. Last
month, Julius Bio, Sierra Leone’s president, called Africa the “unquestionable
victim” of an imbalanced, outdated, and unrepresentative security council
structure.

 

While there is a consensus that the council needs to
reformed, discussions have been watered down over differences on how much to
expand the group, what countries to include, and what powers it should have.

 

 ‘WE BELIEVE IT IS JUST’

 

“For years, countries have been calling for a more inclusive
and a more representative council, one that reflects the demographics of
today’s world and better respond to the challenges that we face today,”
Thomas-Greenfield told the council on foreign relations.

 

The US ambassador said Africa’s exclusion from the security
council does not allow countries “to deliver the full benefit of their
knowledge and voices”.

 

“That is why, in addition to non-permanent membership for
African countries, the United States supports creating two permanent seats for
Africa on the council,” she added.

 

 “It’s what our
African partners seek, and it’s what we believe is just.”

 

The UN security council is charged with maintaining
international peace and security and has the power to impose sanctions, arms
embargoes, and authorise the use of force.

 

The council is made up of 10 elected states serving two-year
terms and five permanent veto-wielding nations in Russia, China, France, the
US, and the UK.

Source: US seeks two permanent seats for Africa in UN security council

 - NigerianEye

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