The Senegalese Head of State and President-in-Office of the African Union, Macky Sall, once again asked the UN General Assembly for a reform of the Security Council so that Africa is better represented. In his speech (reproduced in extenso by Le Soleil), Macky Sall noted the obsolete nature of the Security Council and demanded Africa’s participation in UN institutions.
“Nearly eighty years after the birth of the United Nations system and the Bretton Woods Institutions, it is time to establish a fairer, more inclusive and more adapted world governance to the realities of our time”
Macky Sall, President of SenegalSpeech at the UN
The time for change has come, according to the Senegalese president. “It is time to overcome the reluctance and deconstruct the narratives that persist in confining Africa to the margins of decision-making circles. It is time to uphold the just and legitimate African demand on the reform of the Security Council, as reflected in the Ezulwini Consensus”, he said.
The Consensus of‘Ezulwini, drawn up in 2005, is the common African position on the reform of the United Nations. For the African Union, “the full representation of Africa in the Security Council means at least two permanent seats with all the privileges and prerogatives of permanent members including the right of veto and five non-permanent seats”. The African Union points out that “While Africa opposes in principle the retention of the veto power, it believes that it is a matter of justice for all and that while it exists, it must be granted to all permanent members, old and new “.
The Security Council is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations. It constitutes a select council of member countries of the organization overseeing the maintenance of peace and security in the world. It is made up of five permanent members (the victors of the Second World War: China, the United States, France, the United Kingdom and Russia) who have a right of veto and ten non-permanent members elected for two years by the Assembly. general, taking into account geographical distribution. Africa has three seats.
The reform of the Security Council is regularly mentioned, in order to improve its representativeness and the effectiveness of its work, but it is not on the agenda of the UN. Indeed, presented as a source of instability, it is postponed indefinitely each time.