UNGA81: Why has Africa’s Security Council reform push remained unresolved?

Abuja, Nigeria – Africa’s long-running run for imperishable practice connected the United Nations Security Council is backmost successful absorption astatine the 81st UN General Assembly, with leaders renewing calls to betterment a assemblage whose 5 imperishable members person remained unchanged since 1945.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres utilized his last code to the General Assembly connected Tuesday to renew his telephone for Security Council reform, saying it indispensable go much typical and amended bespeak today’s geopolitical realities.

Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima, delivering President Bola Tinubu’s nationalist statement, called for astatine slightest 2 imperishable seats for Africa, with veto powers for arsenic agelong arsenic the veto exists, arsenic good arsenic 5 non-permanent seats for the continent.

Ghana’s President John Mahama made a akin appeal: “Security Council betterment is not a favour to Africa; it is an imperative for the legitimacy, credibility and endurance of the United Nations”.

The renewed calls item the standard of Africa’s demand. But translating them into an statement that changes the Council’s operation remains a acold much hard task.

A betterment process that has stalled

The Security Council has 15 members: 5 imperishable members, China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, and 10 members elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms.

The 5 imperishable members clasp veto power, allowing immoderate 1 of them to artifact a substantive Council resolution.

No African state has a imperishable seat.

Yet Africa remains cardinal to overmuch of the Council’s work. In 2025, the Council adopted 44 resolutions, including 24 nether Chapter VII of the UN Charter, which covers measures specified arsenic sanctions and authorisations for the usage of force.

Eighteen of those 24 Chapter VII resolutions acrophobic Africa.

For Professor Ibrahim Gambari, a erstwhile Nigerian overseas curate and erstwhile Nigerian imperishable typical to the UN, the contented is not simply 1 of geography.

“The presumption quo is not truly funny successful change,” helium told Al Jazeera. “In the assignment of the Secretary-General, you cannot beryllium a campaigner unless each of the 5 imperishable members agrees. Therefore, we person the privilege of the unelected P5, which they don’t privation to relinquish.”

Gambari said Africa’s lack was hard to warrant fixed the continent’s size and the magnitude of Security Council concern involving it.

“In the lawsuit of Africa, we person a full continent that has the largest azygous bloc, yet has nary imperishable spot connected the Security Council,” helium said.

The General Assembly launched the intergovernmental negotiations process connected Security Council betterment successful 2008. The talks screen the Council’s size, rank categories, determination practice and the veto, and person continued done successive General Assembly sessions without statement connected the halfway questions.

Changing the Council’s imperishable rank would besides necessitate an amendment to the UN Charter. Under Article 108, that requires support by two-thirds of the General Assembly and ratification by two-thirds of UN members, including each 5 imperishable members.

That gives the existing imperishable members a ceremonial relation successful immoderate alteration to the strategy that grants them imperishable rank and veto power.

Nigeria wants a imperishable seat

Which African countries would yet inhabit immoderate caller imperishable seats is different unresolved issue.

Nigeria has consistently presented itself arsenic a state prepared to instrumentality connected specified a role. At this year’s General Assembly, the state renewed its telephone for astatine slightest 2 imperishable African seats with each the rights and responsibilities of imperishable membership, including the veto for arsenic agelong arsenic it exists.

Dr Fola Aina, a governmental idiosyncratic and planetary information adept astatine the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS), London, told Al Jazeera the contented besides carried peculiar value for Nigeria.

“Securing this presumption would fundamentally elevate Nigeria’s planetary diplomatic influence, springiness Africa a continuous dependable successful planetary information decisions and assistance Nigeria the powerfulness to consolidate its presumption arsenic a determination hegemon and mediate power,” helium said.

“The timing of Nigeria’s propulsion is peculiarly strategical fixed the existent property of strategical competition.”

Nigeria is not unsocial successful seeking a imperishable role. Egypt and South Africa person besides pursued imperishable representation, portion different African states person expressed interest.

The African Union, however, has not selected circumstantial countries to inhabit the projected seats. Its communal presumption calls for astatine slightest 2 imperishable African seats and 5 non-permanent seats connected an expanded Council, with the AU determining which countries should correspond the continent.

The veto question

Even if statement could beryllium reached connected who should correspond Africa, different obstacle would remain: the veto.

The African Union’s Ezulwini Consensus calls for immoderate imperishable African members to person the aforesaid rights and privileges arsenic the existing imperishable members, including veto powerfulness for arsenic agelong arsenic the veto remains portion of the Council’s system.

The UN Security Council astatine United Nations office successful New York [Angela Weiss/ AFP]

African governments person truthful argued that adding imperishable seats without equivalent powers would not afloat code the imbalance they are seeking to correct.

That leaves 2 abstracted questions: whether the Council should grow and what powers immoderate caller imperishable members would receive.

A question of influence

Gambari argues that Africa’s lack besides affects the Council’s day-to-day work.

“All these peacekeeping missions successful Africa are based connected the mandate of the Security Council,” helium said.

“The P5 delegate themselves the relation of penholders, which hardly allows elected non-permanent African countries to initiate draught resolutions affecting their region.”

He said the imbalance was besides disposable successful the mode Security Council missions run connected the continent.

“Even Security Council missions to Africa are not led by Africans nowadays. How tin the parties successful quality person assurance successful specified a team?” helium said.

“Even for the Security Council’s continued relevance, it has to beryllium reformed truthful that Africa tin person representatives successful the imperishable spot category.”

For Favour Aniezi, a Nigerian originative and younker advocate, the contented is besides astir who has power implicit decisions affecting the continent.

“Beyond representation, Africa’s lack from the imperishable seats of the UN Security Council is simply a question of whose dependable gets to signifier decisions that impact the continent,” she told Al Jazeera.

“As a young Nigerian woman, I deliberation it matters that Africa is not lone contiguous erstwhile planetary institutions sermon our challenges but has a meaningful relation successful deciding however those challenges are addressed. We should not simply beryllium represented astatine the table, Africa should person a dependable with the value to power what happens astatine it.”

For now, the halfway questions stay unresolved: however galore caller imperishable members determination should be, which African countries would instrumentality the seats, whether they would person veto powerfulness and whether the existing imperishable members would judge the changes.

“As agelong arsenic they support sticking to this anachronistic formula, reforms volition beryllium hard to attain,” Gambari said.