Rwanda's President Paul Kagame has emphasized that the creation of two permanent UNSC seats for African states should be structured so that one seat is occupied by the African Union Commission and the other by African countries on a rotational basis.
"One permanent seat would have to be held by AU Commission and 2nd seat by African Country on rotational basis!!! Not held by any single country permanently!" the president wrote in a Thursday post on X, responding to a former Kenyan diplomat who had raised questions about the proposed seats.
Thursday’s discussion about the proposal for UNSC permanent seats for Africa came after reports that the United States, a permanent member of the Council, would support two seats for the continent.
The US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, stated that the US is backing the creation of two permanent seats for Africa on the UNSC, with one additional seat to be rotated among small island developing states.
On Friday, South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa expressed appreciation for the US backing of two permanent seats for African nations on the council. However, he criticized the suggestion to exclude these seats from having veto power. Ramaphosa cautioned that withholding full participation rights would reduce Africa to a "second-class citizen" status within the global organization.