Africa being 'manifestly underrepresented on Security Council is simply wrong': UN

HAMILTON, Canada

The UN on Monday noted the need for an urgent reform, emphasizing that Africa being "manifestly underrepresented on Security Council is simply wrong."

"Today's topic speaks to the urgent and long overdue need to reform the Security Council," UN General Assembly President Dennis Francis told a Security Council.

The session took place after Sierra Leone, the president of the Council for August, arranged the high-level meeting on the topic the "Maintenance of international peace and security: addressing the historical injustice and enhancing Africa’s effective representation on the Security Council."

Francis highlighted the disparity between the Council's outdated structure and today's global realities, saying that "The world today is much different than it was in 1945."

Stressing that the UN, now comprised of 193 member states, requires institutions that adapt to current needs, he said: "There are legitimate growing calls for a Security Council that is more representative, more responsive, more democratic, and indeed, more transparent."

Saying that "Africa is home to 54 of the 193 members of the United Nations... and consistently provides four of the top 10 countries contributing their nationals to the ranks of the blue helmets," Francis criticized the ongoing underrepresentation of Africa on the Council.

"The fact that Africa continues to be manifestly underrepresented on the Security Council is simply wrong," he said, calling it a violation of the principles of equity and inclusion.

Francis further welcomed the current draft of the Pact for the Future, which prioritizes addressing Africa's historical injustice. However, he cautioned that these discussions must lead to concrete actions, not empty pledges.

"The question of Africa's effective representation on the Security Council speaks directly to the credibility of the United Nations itself," he warned.

Echoing Francis, the President of Sierra Leone, Julius Maada Bio, also emphasized the critical underrepresentation of Africa.

"Africa remains the unquestionable victim with the absence of structural change. The Security Council's performance and legitimacy remains questionable," he told.

Saying that the Council’s current structure reflects a "profound historical injustice," Bio demanded that Africa be granted "two permanent seats and two additional non-permanent seats" on the Council, along with the abolition of the veto power or its extension to all new permanent members.

"The time for half-measures and incremental progress is over. Africa's voice must be heard, and its demands for justice and equity must be met," he stressed.

Emphasizing that "to strengthen the Security Council, the historical injustice against Africa must be rectified as a matter of priority," Bio said "The UN's immediate corrective action is crucial."