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South African President Calls for UN Security Council Reform: Veto Abolition, Seats for Africa

15:08, 18 October 2024

Alla Shukanova

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The shortcomings of the Security Council have had a devastating impact on the African continent and the Global South, which often suffer the social and economic consequences of conflicts elsewhere, South Africa's leader said.

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Addressing the national parliament on Thursday, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa called for urgent reform of the UN Security Council (UNSC), increasing its membership and abolishing the veto.

"The reform of the United Nations Security Council is vital to global efforts to advance peace and stability," the president said in a statement.

South Africa believes that the international political and economic system remains unequal and unjust, he noted.

Therefore, Ramaphosa said, the country reiterates its call for the urgent reform of the Security Council based on the Common African Position (CAP), a document promoted by the African Union that reflects Africa's approach to development.

"This position calls for two permanent seats and five non-permanent seats for Africa. It calls for the abolishment of the veto. But it also says that for as long as the veto exists, it is a privilege which should be extended to all new permanent members," Ramaphosa said, referring to one of the CAP requirements: full and equitable representation of African countries in international financial and economic institutions.

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The president emphasized that the Council, in its current configuration, has failed to fulfill its Charter mandate because of narrow national interests and the pursuit of further geopolitical influence.

"It has not been able, in recent years, to prevent or resolve several damaging conflicts. This is evident in conflicts currently underway in the Middle East, in Sudan, in the Eastern DRC and between Russia and Ukraine," he pointed out.

He also noted that geopolitical realities have changed since the founding of the United Nations, as African member states now make up a quarter of the 193 states that are members of the United Nations. Concerns are also raising because many issues that affect the African continent are on the agenda of the Council, yet no African country has a permanent seat.