African power at the UN: Will the continent get the veto?

African power at the UN: Will the continent get the veto?

Winning a permanent seat on the Security Council depends on homegrown solutions, not just diplomatic rhetoric, experts tell RT
At the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in September, appeals for Africa to gain two permanent seats on the UN Security Council (UNSC) grew louder, with leaders from Asia, Latin America, and Africa advocating for systemic equality.
Demands for fair representation have become Africa’s most persistent diplomatic priority at the United Nations since the African Union adopted the  in 2005. At the September sitting, Kenyan President William Ruto reminded delegates that the equality proclaimed in the General Assembly ends at the Security Council doors.
Ruto that Africa’s 54 countries comprise almost a quarter of the UN’s membership, and its people represent about one-fifth of humanity. Nevertheless, the continent still has no permanent Security Council seat.
That imbalance might have reflected the world of 1945; it does not reflect the world of today. Reform must lead to equitable and permanent representation for Africa, with all the prerogatives and privileges of permanent Council membership, Ruto told the session.
Ghana President John Dramani Mahama  Africa’s exclusion from permanent membership of the Security Council was fundamentally unacceptable in the 21st century, calling for permanent representation with full rights and veto powers.
Security Council reform is not a favor to Africa; it is an imperative for the legitimacy, credibility, and survival of the United Nations, Mahama said.
Outgoing UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres  that the Security Council, designed in the aftermath of World War II, must be reformed to reflect today’s world with the legitimacy and effectiveness that today’s challenges demand.
When the UN was founded, most of Africa was still under colonial rule. Today, Africa still has no permanent representation on the Council. A 21st-century Security Council without permanent African seats is unjust and indefensible. This must change, Guterres said.
Not just fill seats but bring meaningful changeBut even as calls for Africa to get a permanent UNSC seat grew bolder, experts on the continent say something needs to be put right first. Faisal Roble, a Horn of Africa political analyst based in Arusha, Tanzania, says Africa’s grievance is legitimate, but diplomacy alone cannot fix it.
Roble says Africa must be well-represented in rooms where decisions about its future are made because the current arrangement befits neither the continent nor the United Nations’ legitimacy.
Africa is asking to help govern global security while at the same time it is home to several places providing a setting for some of the world’s gravest security failures. The continent must show it has capability by first putting its house in order, Roble told RT.
Roble observes that support for Africa’s demand for equal power on the Security Council exists beyond the continent. Still, leaders must show the continent will not just fill seats but bring meaningful change to the critical UN institution.
Read more The argument should now move beyond Africa having 54 countries and more than 1.5 billion people to what the continent brings to the table. The current five permanent members have both military and financial power, and Africa must then bring something unique and different, Roble said.
Roble argues that for Africa to succeed, it must move beyond mere diplomatic rhetoric and strategize on how to overcome structural obstacles to pushing through an amendment to the UN Charter that will grant the continent two permanent seats on the UNSC.
Africa can get the required two-thirds support from member states to push through the amendment, but it must strategize on how such an amendment can get ratification by all five permanent members because here is where the real obstacle is, he notes.
Homegrown solutions