High-level Debate on “Addressing the historical injustice and enhancing Africa’s effective representation on the UN Security Council”
On Monday morning (12 August), the Security Council will convene for a high-level debate titled “Addressing the historical injustice and enhancing Africa’s effective representation on the UN Security Council” under the “Maintenance of international peace and security” agenda item. This is one of the signature events of Sierra Leone’s August Council presidency. Sierra Leonean President Julius Maada Bio is expected to chair the meeting. The anticipated briefers are UN Secretary-General António Guterres, President of the UN General Assembly Dennis Francis, and a representative of academia.
In addition to Council members, several member states are expected to participate in the meeting under rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure on behalf of regional groups and interest groups in the General Assembly’s Intergovernmental Negotiations on the question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and other matters related to the Council (IGN). These include:
- representatives of all countries of the African Union (AU) Committee of Ten Heads of State and Government on the Reform of the UN Security Council (C-10)—Algeria, the Republic of Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Libya, Namibia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Uganda, and Zambia—which advocates internationally for the Common African Position, calling for Africa to have two permanent seats with veto rights and five non-permanent seats on the Security Council;
- one representative each from the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the Benelux countries, the Nordic Group, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), and the Arab Group at the UN; and
- one representative each from cross-regional interest groups on Security Council reform, including the Group of Four (G4), the L.69, and the Uniting for Consensus Group (UfC).
Kuwait, in its capacity as a co-chair of the IGN process with Austria, is also expected to take part in the meeting under rule 37.
Sierra Leone has circulated a concept note ahead of Monday’s meeting. It outlines several objectives for the debate, including to acknowledge and address the historical context of Africa’s underrepresentation in the Security Council, as well as its non-representation in the permanent category. It also seeks to bring attention to the Common African Position and to explore the potential effects of increased African representation on the Council on the organ’s legitimacy and effectiveness. The concept note encourages participants at Monday’s debate to identify potential challenges and propose solutions to the Security Council reform process towards a more equitable outcome.
The concept note also proposes a series of questions to help guide the discussion, including:
- How can the current structure of the Security Council be rectified so that the historical marginalisation of Africa is addressed?
- How has the underrepresentation of Africa in the Council hindered the continent’s ability to contribute effectively to global governance?
- What are the linkages between African underrepresentation on the Security Council and the ability of regional authorities to maintain regional peace and security?
In part, calls for Security Council reform demonstrate concerns that the Council is not effectively carrying out its mandate to maintain international peace and security, fuelled in recent years by its inability to gain traction in addressing crises in Gaza, Sudan, Ukraine and other situations on its agenda. In addition, there is a widespread perception that the Council’s composition is anachronistic, no longer reflecting the geo-political realities of international politics.
While reform negotiations (including on the structure of the Council and the use of the veto) take place at the IGN, Council members and the wider membership frequently emphasise the need for reform in meetings of the Security Council. For example, it is an often-discussed topic in the annual debates on the Council’s working methods. As well, India convened an open debate in December 2022 titled “New Orientation for Reformed Multilateralism”, in which several member states underscored the importance of Security Council reform.
More recently, in July, Algeria, Mozambique, and Sierra Leone—the current three African members of the Council—publicly championed the AU’s perspective on Council reform in a ministerial-level open debate on “Multilateral cooperation in the interest of a more just, democratic and sustainable world order”. During the meeting, Algeria and Sierra Leone referred to the “historical injustice” to Africa regarding Security Council membership, and Mozambique argued that Security Council reform process should consider the Common African Position, known as “The Ezulwini Consensus”, which is based on an AU Executive Council decision adopted in Addis Ababa in March 2005.
Echoing the common position, Sierra Leone, which currently chairs the C-10, called for increasing African representation in both permanent and elected categories, noting that much of the Council’s work focuses on the continent. In this regard, 78 of the Council’s 204 meetings in 2023 on country or region-specific situations (38.24 percent) were on African matters, more than any other region. In addition, of the 49 formal outcomes (45 resolutions and four presidential statements) that the Council adopted in 2023 focusing on country or regional issues, more than half (51.02 percent, or 22 resolutions and three presidential statements) dealt with Africa.
Widely diverging positions on Security Council reform are discussed at the IGN. This is reflected in the fact that member states have been unable to negotiate a unified text since the IGN process was launched in 2007. At Monday’s meeting, although some member states may refer favourably to Africa’s quest for one or more permanent seats on the Council, others may make more general statements in support of enhanced participation by Africa in the Council’s work.
Monday’s debate will provide participants an opportunity to highlight their views on Security Council reform in the lead-up to the Summit of the Future in September, during which an outcome document (the Pact for the Future) is expected to be adopted, in which world leaders will outline their vision for the future of multilateralism. The IGN is currently negotiating an input to the Pact. A recent iteration of this draft input calls for an enlarged Security Council comprising 21 to 27 seats, and maintains that enlargement should “redress the historical injustice against Africa as a priority and, while treating Africa as a special case, serve to improve the representation of the underrepresented and unrepresented regions and groups”.
