The United Nations ‘Suppression’ Council

December 15, 2021

Paradox on Africa: A continent with 1.3 billion population underrepresented at the UNSC

Having exclusive and highest political power in the world, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has been muffling the voice of Africans, a continent consisting of over 1.3 billion people, against the interest of the latter and pursuing its political objectives behind closed curtains under the guise peace and security.

Despondently, the African continent is represented by two to three permanent seats on the Security Council. As things stand at present, the council is held by three African nations like Kenya, Niger, and Tunisia. It is inequitable that the continent of Africa with fifty-four nations does not possess permanent members in the Security Council.

Recently, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, Senegalese President Macky Sall, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa strongly criticized the biased representation of Africa in the UN Security Council.

On the topic of the issue, Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said, “I join other African leaders in reiterating that a continent of around 1.3 billion people needs a permanent voice and seat at the UNSC, represented through a bloc. Issues and decisions that concern the continent cannot continue being addressed without continental representation.”

As the UNSC has been fully getting itself engaged in adopting a misguided stance against the entire continent of Africa, the people of Africa have been suffering to a considerable extent and moving sluggishly. As the continent of Africa is under the yoke of the UNSC that does not care a fig about the lives of Africans, it has been persistently playing a major role in throwing cold water on the efforts of Africans.

As the council more often than not gives prominence to its interest, Africans have been suffering time and time again.

The premeditated schemes of some member nations of the United Nations Security Council against Ethiopia have been thwarted time after time on the grounds that nations such as Russia, China, India, and Kenya stood with the truth. Once, the UNSC has convened to discuss situations in Ethiopia. For many, the session was a continued external pressure meant to breach Ethiopia’s sovereignty. The UNSC quite a lot of times have moved heaven and earth to internationalize and put on the agenda Ethiopia’s purely internal matter principally hoodwinked by some member nations that attach importance to a political gain for themselves.

Currently, the 54 African states are represented by two non-permanent members. Five out of the fifteen members have permanent representation at the council, representing Europe, America, and Asia. The permanent members are Britain, France, China, the United States, and Russia.

The council, set up in 1946, is the United Nations’ most powerful body due to its role in shaping world affairs. The body has the authority to make binding decisions on global war and peace situations. International law and security experts have been calling on the African Heads of States to push relentlessly for larger Africa’s representation at the council. The experts say that it is unfair that, Africa is yet to be adequately represented at the council.

On the subject of the issue, the American political analyst Andrew Korybko said, “African countries must collectively pool their diplomatic efforts to achieve equitable United Nations Security Council (UNSC) reform that enables the continent to be represented in the global body,” according to information obtained from ENA.

The UNSC is long overdue for comprehensive reform to align this top global body with the radical changes that have been taken place in the seven and a half decades since its founding. As it stands, the UNSC’s permanent members represent World War II victors and the only legal nuclear weapons states. Since then, conventional colonialism has ended, dozens of countries obtained independence (especially in Africa), and other countries have obtained nuclear weapons too.

He elucidated that the world is presently in the midst of an emerging multipolar order that has seen many Global South states become much more prominent in international affairs. The failure to thus far reform the UNSC to reflect this change is due to its permanent members’ disagreements about this issue. Regrettably, this has led to the growing perception that this global body is out of touch with the global public, according to the analyst who added that “this, in turn, has driven concerns that some of its decisions, especially those related to Africa, might be considered unfair.”

He said “a balance certainly needs to be struck to expand the UNSC without hamstringing its efficiency, which is admittedly already pretty challenged as it is due to the US-led Western bloc’s resistance to Chinese and Russian initiatives, including their proposed reforms. Therefore, all African countries must collectively pool their diplomatic efforts to achieve equitable UNSC reform enabling their continent to finally be represented in this global body.”

However, there must be a fair process in place for selecting which African country or countries will have a seat at the UNSC.

According to him, one possibility could be for the African Union to decide the issue among itself, such as agreeing to have a certain number of countries like Ethiopia, Nigeria, and South Africa rotate every few years with a mechanism in place for expanding the circle of states in response to the continent’s political and economic evolution across the coming century to ensure maximum equality.

Nevertheless, all of this remains an academic discussion for now until there is tangible reform in the UNSC to allow Africa to be represented there in the first place, but China and Russia can be counted on to help, the analyst added.

Another possibility building upon the prior one that was proposed is for the African Union to rotate countries after a certain period for each of its regional integration blocs to be represented. To elaborate, ECOWAS, IGAD, and SADC, among others, could then decide among themselves which of their members would take Africa’s UNSC seat during each bloc’s rotational term.

Of course, it might also be decided by the African Union that whichever country or countries are selected would receive permanent representation without any rotations, just like is the case with the global body other permanent members. The rotational proposal should still be seriously considered because it could be a pragmatic compromise among those countries in the continent that might compete for such a permanent seat or seats.

“This must be decided by Africans themselves and no solution should be imposed from abroad. Whether Africa wants traditional permanent representation or a rotating form thereof, its decision must be respected by all.”

“It’s simply the fairest and most equitable policy available since deciding African issues without African representation isn’t right. All states are legally considered to be equal under international law, though with the caveat being that the UNSC’s decisions are legally binding.”

 BY ADDISALEM MULAT

THE ETHIOPIAN HERALD DECEMBER 15/2021