The representation of Africa in the UN Security Council does not correspond to the continent's modern role in the world, said Russia's First Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky.
"We unequivocally advocate for expanding the Council exclusively by including developing countries from Africa, Asia, and Latin America. We see this as a logical and long-overdue step to overcome historical injustice, primarily towards the African states, whose current representation in the Council does not correspond to the number of states or Africa's modern role in international affairs," he said, speaking at a Security Council meeting on the topic of expanding African representation in the body.
Polyansky noted that "Western countries, which strictly adhere to bloc approaches, are already significantly overrepresented in the Security Council."
"We urge our African colleagues to remain vigilant and avoid the mistake of believing that historical injustice towards Africa can be overcome by simultaneously adding new Western members to the UN Security Council. For this to happen, the proportion of African and overall developing states must significantly increase compared to their former metropolises and their allies, who strive to maintain their dominant positions in world affairs at any cost and without any justification," he emphasized.
The Russian diplomat also pointed out that a reformed Council should remain effective and authoritative. For this purpose, the Council's composition should not be excessively large. Evidently, a Security Council with 25–30 members would be unable to effectively carry out its mission, according to Polyansky. Furthermore, it should maintain the right of veto, a crucial mechanism established by the UN's founding states in its Charter, as this veto power has been utilized in Africa's interests, as exemplified a year ago when Russia's veto blocked the renewal of counterproductive and outdated sanctions against Mali, he observed.
Aside from that, Polyansky drew attention to the fact that the funds that Western countries allocate to arm the Kiev authorities could cover most humanitarian aid plans for African countries.
"Amid the worsening overall humanitarian situation in Africa, it is surprising to see the blatant politicization of humanitarian aid issues by Western donors. For example, UN humanitarian appeals for many African countries in 2023 were only funded at 20-30%, and this trend continues this year," he said. "Meanwhile, in Ukraine, which is a food exporter, the humanitarian appeal shows record funding levels of 70% and above. It is also clear that the volume of Western military aid to Ukraine could easily fill the gap in most African UN humanitarian plans, improving the lives of hundreds of millions of people."
Polyansky emphasized that instead of helping needy countries, Western donors "prefer to supply weapons to conflict zones, profiting from the misery and suffering of people."
"We note that Western donors primarily support projects related to their own priorities, while the urgent needs of African countries for infrastructure and technology often go unnoticed," the Russian diplomat concluded.
The UN Security Council consists of 15 countries, of which five (Russia, the United Kingdom, China, the US, and France) are permanent members and ten are non-permanent members elected for two-year terms. Previously, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres stated that most UN countries recognize the need for Security Council reform. Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov noted that the Security Council should be expanded by including countries from Asia, Africa, and Latin America rather than Western countries.