Russia consistently advocates strengthening the representation of Africa in the UN Security Council (UNSC) and eliminating the historical injustice committed against it, Permanent Representative of Russia to the UN, Vasily Nebenzya, told Russian media.
At the same time, African countries should decide for themselves who exactly will represent the continent in the UNSC, the diplomat added.
“We always listen carefully to their [African] opinions on issues affecting their fundamental interests. Undoubtedly, we will do the same this time,” Nebenzya emphasized.
He added that the creation of a “truly multipolar world” is impossible without the inclusion of African states.
“Africa's current position in the body does not correspond either to the total number of states on the continent or to its contemporary role in international affairs,” the official noted.
However, a unified position of the African continent on specific candidates has not yet been formed, the diplomat said. As for the decision on the parameters of the reform, including categories of membership, it must be made by the vast majority of UN member countries.
Speaking about the reform of the UN body, the permanent representative warned that the reform of the composition of the UN Security Council should not be skewed towards the West.
“At the same time, it is important to prevent a further increase in the quantitative imbalance in the composition of the Security Council in favor of Western representatives, as well as the erosion of the exclusive prerogatives of permanent members, including the right of veto,” he said.
Nebenzya said that “painstaking” intergovernmental negotiations are continuing at the UN to bring states’ positions closer together, but on some issues the positions of countries are “polar opposite.” This applies in particular to the number of Security Council members and their length of service in the body.
The diplomat also expressed the hope that the reform will be implemented as soon as possible, but added that hasty decisions in this matter should not be made, since the adoption of “an unbalanced decision will not contribute to increasing the efficiency of the council.”
The UN Security Council includes 15 countries, of which five (Russia, the UK, China, the US and France) are permanent members, and ten are non-permanent, elected for two years.
Earlier, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that most UN countries recognize the need for reform of the Security Council. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov also noted that the UN Security Council should expand not by including Western countries, but by adding representatives from Asia, Africa and Latin America.