Africa is set to have a stronger voice at the United Nations (UN) following support from the United States. This is after the US announced it backs creating two permanent United Nations Security Council (UNSC) seats for African states.
Speaking to Reuters, the US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield said she hoped the announcement will “move this agenda forward in a way that we can achieve Security Council reform at some point in the future”.
However, she clarified that the US does not support expanding veto power beyond the five countries that hold it. The ambassador added that the US supports the creation of one seat to be rotated among small island developing states.
The UN Security Council has five permanent members: China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States. It also has ten non-permanent members elected on two-year terms.
Kenya was once elected to the UNSC as a non-permanent member for the period 2021 to 2022.
According to the UN Economic commission for Africa, the continent crossed the 1.5 billion people mark in July 2024 but somehow does not have a permanent seat on the UNSC.
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What It Means to Be a Permanent Member of the UNSC?
A permanent country member of the UNSC has veto power. Veto power means a member country can negate a decision by other members. A recent situation was when the US vetoed a UNSC resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The decision caused an uproar around the world, considering the destruction and suffering of Palestinians as reported by media.
African countries have been criticizing the form in which Israel is conducting war against Hamas, a group considered a terrorist organization by western countries including the US and UK.
South Africa even took Israel to the International Court of Justice (ICJ) over concerns of possible genocide in Gaza.
The court decided that Israel had to do everything it could to prevent genocide in the area. Isarel refuted the claims saying the war in Gaza was in self-defense.
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Despite African presidents raising concerns, it does not hold much influence on Israel’s actions and the possibility of being a permanent member of the UNSC could change that in future.
It remains to be seen if other countries will back US’ support for Africa to have two permanent seats at the United Nations Security Council.
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