African power at the UN: Will the continent get the veto?

Winning a permanent seat on the Security Council depends on homegrown solutions, not just diplomatic rhetoric, experts tell RT

At the 81st session of the UN General Assembly in September, appeals for Africa to gain two permanent seats on the UN Security Council (UNSC) grew louder, with leaders from Asia, Latin America, and Africa advocating for systemic equality.

Demands for fair representation have become Africa’s most persistent diplomatic priority at the United Nations since the African Union adopted the Ezulwini Consensus in 2005. At the September sitting, Kenyan President William Ruto reminded delegates that the equality proclaimed in the General Assembly ends at the Security Council doors.

Ruto argued that Africa’s 54 countries comprise almost a quarter of the UN’s membership, and its people represent about one-fifth of humanity. Nevertheless, the continent still has no permanent Security Council seat.

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“That imbalance might have reflected the world of 1945; it does not reflect the world of today. Reform must lead to equitable and permanent representation for Africa, with all the prerogatives and privileges of permanent Council membership,” Ruto told the session.

Ghana President John Dramani Mahama said Africa’s exclusion from permanent membership of the Security Council was “fundamentally unacceptable in the 21st century,” calling for permanent representation with full rights and veto powers.

“Security Council reform is not a favor to Africa; it is an imperative for the legitimacy, credibility, and survival of the United Nations,” Mahama said.

Outgoing UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres observed that the Security Council, designed in the aftermath of World War II, must be reformed to reflect today’s world with the legitimacy and effectiveness that today’s challenges demand.

“When the UN was founded, most of Africa was still under colonial rule. Today, Africa still has no permanent representation on the Council. A 21st-century Security Council without permanent African seats is unjust and indefensible. This must change,” Guterres said.

“Not just fill seats but bring meaningful change”

But even as calls for Africa to get a permanent UNSC seat grew bolder, experts on the continent say something needs to be put right first. Faisal Roble, a Horn of Africa political analyst based in Arusha, Tanzania, says Africa’s grievance is legitimate, but diplomacy alone cannot fix it.

Roble says Africa must be well-represented in rooms where decisions about its future are made because the current arrangement befits neither the continent nor the United Nations’ legitimacy.

“Africa is asking to help govern global security while at the same time it is home to several places providing a setting for some of the world’s gravest security failures. The continent must show it has capability by first putting its house in order,” Roble told RT.

Roble observes that support for Africa’s demand for equal power on the Security Council exists beyond the continent. Still, leaders must show the continent “will not just fill seats but bring meaningful change to the critical UN institution.”

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“The argument should now move beyond Africa having 54 countries and more than 1.5 billion people to what the continent brings to the table. The current five permanent members have both military and financial power, and Africa must then bring something unique and different,” Roble said.

Roble argues that for Africa to succeed, it must move “beyond mere diplomatic rhetoric” and strategize on how to overcome structural obstacles to pushing through an amendment to the UN Charter that will grant the continent two permanent seats on the UNSC.

“Africa can get the required two-thirds support from member states to push through the amendment, but it must strategize on how such an amendment can get ratification by all five permanent members because here is where the real obstacle is,” he notes.

“Homegrown solutions that can fix the continent’s problems”

Dr. Jalale Getachew Birru, a security and peace analyst at Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED), says it will be impossible for Africa to secure a permanent seat with veto powers at the UNSC if the continent cannot prove that it can end its own wars.

“Africa has continuously relied on the big brothers in solving every economic, social and political problem at home. The continent has unending conflicts, and this portrays it as poorly placed to help manage the world’s security concerns,” Dr. Birru told RT.

According to the expert, permanent UNSC membership carries responsibility for international peace and security. If Africa cannot handle its own conflicts, it will find it harder to persuade skeptical capitals like Washington and London that the continent deserves equal powers on the council.

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“To a great extent, the majority of decisions made at the UNSC affect Africa, and it is for this reason that the continent must have a voice at the table, but our leaders must demonstrate to the whole world that they have homegrown solutions that can fix the continent’s problems without waiting for support and direction from the West,” the expert said.

Dr. Birru argues that Africa’s leverage in its quest for a permanent UNSC seat is to “show that African institutions and solutions work.”

“Africa must take more responsibility for its own security”

Mesenbet Assefa, Senior Fellow at the HORN Institute, explains that having a functional AU Peace and Security Council will strengthen Africa’s quest to gain power at the UNSC.

He says the AU must stop responding selectively to crises on the continent, especially those perpetuated by sitting heads of state, and that African governments need to show they can carry out the responsibilities they are asking to share.

“It will be ironic for Africa to get a permanent seat and veto powers at the UNSC when the AU peace and security council is dysfunctional. Africa must take more responsibility for its own security by funding mechanisms that curb the flow of arms and illicit minerals that sustain the unending crises on the continent,” said Assefa.

He added, “Africa must take a prominent and leading role in ending the current conflicts in Sudan, DR Congo, Ethiopia, South Sudan, and the Sahel.”

At the same time, Assefa notes that Africa must arrive at the negotiating table with a settled proposal on which of its members will serve as permanent members of the UNSC.

“With support from Russia, China and France, Africa might succeed in pushing for two permanent seats on the UNSC, but there will be trouble on the allocation of the seats, and this will complicate the whole process. The continent’s quest will be deflected the moment they start arguing over who sits where,” Assefa told RT.

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The Security Council has primary responsibility for maintaining international peace and security. It has five permanent and ten non-permanent members elected for two-year terms.

Each member of the council has one vote. The five permanent members – China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States – have veto powers which they can use to overrule any decision made.