August 14, 2024
Cosmina Craciunescu Timofte
United Kingdom, England
Source of Picture:
Summary
The United Nations Chief António Guterres has recently called for Africa to be provided with “a permanent seat at the UN Security Council as part of reforms to correct historical injustices” (Efemini, 2024)
The African Union has been long pushing its nations to have “two permanent representatives on the Council”, along with an “additional two seats as non-permanent representatives” (Efemini, 2024) The main motivation behind this particular change is represented by the fact that several reforms are placed into effect in an effort of the officials to “correct historical injustices” (Efemini, 2024) The Security Council has been “long criticized” because of its failure to successfully integrate Africa into its operations until now. Additional criticism came from the fact that the Security Council has been “representing the realities that prevailed at the end of World War Two, when much of Africa was still under colonial rule” (Efemini, 2024)
Background
It is known that The African Union “has been pushing for the continent to have two permanent representatives on the Council and an additional two seats as non-permanent representatives” (Efemini, 2024) It illustrates the degree of effort made by the continent to successfully integrate alongside the other nations.
The 15-member United Nations Security Council is comprised of five permanent members with “veto rights – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States – while the remaining 10 non-permanent seats are distributed regionally” (Atungwu, 2024) About the regional distribution, it is important to emphasize the fact that it “includes three seats for the African States, two each for Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Western Europe…and one for Eastern European States” (Atungwu, 2024).
The United Nations Chief, Mr. Guterres mentioned that “Africa has been under-represented at the UN Security Council and international institutions, but over-represented in the very challenges these structures are designed to address” (Guterres, apud, Efemini, 2024)
The main issues raised at the occasion of this meeting were the facts that Africa has not only “been at the center of conflicts fuelled by greed for the continent’s resources” but also that “almost half of all UN peacekeeping operations were in Africa, and 40% of the UN peacekeepers were African” (Guterres, apud, Efemini, 2024) This particular change is regarded as “strategically imperative” to successfully integrate the nation into the undertakings of this international organization
Back in May of this year, the United Nations Security Council “called for the role of African countries to be strengthened in addressing global security and development challenges” (AlJazeera, 2024) This will lead to largely positive outcomes for all of the parties involved in this International Council, also, becoming a source of protection for the African states, that were immensely affected by series of conflicts. It is a move that calls for respecting the principles of equality and fair representation within an international superpower. There is unanimous agreement on the fact that the UN should adapt to the current circumstances by successfully integrating countries that deserve a seat at the table.
As a result of the discussions, the United Nations issued an official call for the African States, back in May to “take a larger role in addressing global security and development challenges” (TOI World Desk, 2024) Africa could bring invaluable experience and expertise, and could efficiently get involved into settling its major conflicts with great success. This is why assistance from the United Nations is essential, enabling the African Nations to bring their projects to fruition.
References:
Cosmina Craciunescu Timofte, "United Nations Chief Calls for Permanent Africa Security Council Seat", Access PDF at: https://acrobat.adobe.com/id/urn:aaid:sc:EU:a8ba2945-5113-4f9e-ad31-4fb01d1522cb
AlJazeera, “Officials at the UN Security Council Push for a Permanent Seat for Africa”, Published August 12, 2024, [Online], Available at: https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/8/12/officials-at-un-security-council-push-for-a-permanent-seat-for-africa , accessed August 14, 2024
Atungwu, M., “Africa Deserves Permanent Security Council Seat – UN Chief”, in Daily Post, Published August 13, 2024, [Online], available at: https://dailypost.ng/2024/08/13/africa-deserves-permanent-security-council-seat-un-chief/ , accessed August 14, 2024
Efemini, C., “UN Chief Calls for Permanent Africa Security Council Seat”, BBC News, Published August 13, 2024, [Online], available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c2kj5yvwd74o , accessed August 14, 2024
Times Of India World Desk, “UN Chief Calls for Africa’s Permanent Seat in the UNSC, Highlights Under Representation”, Times of India, [Online], available at: https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/rest-of-world/un-chief-calls-for-africas-permanent-seat-in-unsc-highlights-under-representation/articleshow/112481525.cms Accessed August 14, 2024
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