Guterres supports Africa’s demand for permanent seat at UN Security Council

“There is a growing consensus that the injustice of no presence of Africans in the permanent members of the Security Council be corrected. The proposal I believe is fair and hope will be able to gather a large consensus is to have two African permanent members of the Security Council,” Mr Guterres said.

The UN chief added that Africa’s exclusion from the council permanent membership does not reflect the current global realities, adding that the continent plays an important role in peacekeeping, economic development and diplomacy, yet it remains sidelined in critical decision-making at the UN’s highest decision-making body.

Mr Guterres pointed out that African nations collectively represent a substantial portion of the UN membership and contribute immensely to global security efforts, citing Kenya’s efforts towards peace in Haiti.

He said giving Africa a permanent voice at the Security Council would enhance the UN’s legitimacy and effectiveness in addressing conflicts, particularly those affecting the continent.

He also acknowledged growing support among world leaders for reforms at the Security Council, adding that discussions on the matter have gained momentum.

The UN chief expressed optimism that African countries, through the AU and diplomatic channels, would continue pushing for fair representation.

He urged world leaders to rally behind Africa’s bid, stressing that an inclusive Security Council would foster a more just and balanced international order.

African leaders have stated that challenges posed by limited representation of the continent in the UN Security Council restrict the AU’s ability to deliver effective and concrete conflict resolution.

They say the quest for the UN Security Council reform is a legitimate demand in bid to support conflict resolution on the continent.

Mr Guterres voiced his support for the calls for financial reforms by the AU.

Read: Why Africa should have two permanent seats on UN Security Council

“I believe the present international financial system is ineffective, outdated, and unfair. It was created after the Second World War essentially by developed countries to serve their interests,” the UN Secretary-General said.

At that time, he added, most of the African countries were still under colonial rule.

“Africa is clearly under-represented in these institutions (Bretton Woods) as it is under-represented in the UN Security Council. We need to reform these institutions. We need to reform the international financial system in order to make it correspond to what is today’s economy,” Mr Guterres added.

That, he noted would enhance representation and strength from African and other countries of the Global South “that are the victims of an enormous injustice”.

“A country like Kenya pays interest rates much higher than countries in Europe that probably have a worse financial situation. We absolutely need to have reforms that allow African countries to have much more access to concessional funding, to have a serious programme of debt reduction, and to have the rules of the system adapted to the needs of countries whose economies are in the initial or medium stage of development,” he said.

African leaders took a step towards financial independence by endorsing plans for a continental credit rating agency.

The heads of state and government agreed on the need to counter biases in global credit ratings that have long hindered Africa’s economic growth.

The continent loses $75 billion in opportunities due to biased credit ratings, according to the Africa Peer Review Mechanism and the UN Development Programme (UNDP).

Kenya’s President William Ruto said despite Africa’s natural wealth, fertile land, large diaspora remittances and vast carbon sinks, credit agencies have issued 94 per cent of downgrades in the last decade, granting investment-grade status to only two African countries.

On the crisis in eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Mr Guterres said: “What we need now is a ceasefire and to create conditions for serious negotiations. I was hopeful of taking into account the results of the meeting of the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and the East African Community (EAC). It is absolutely essential to put in place what has been agreed, which is the neutralisation of the FDLR and the withdrawal of the Rwandan forces.”

“This is what is important. It is to stop the sacrifice of the Congolese people.”

He also voiced concerns over the humanitarian crisis in Sudan.

“There are two major crises that have captured world attention. One is the war in Ukraine, the second is the situation in the Middle East. Because of that, not only has there not been political investment to help solve the problem, unfortunately what we have is two groups fighting each other and creating tremendous suffering to their people.”

He also expressed concerns over interference in efforts to foster peace.

“Several countries are interfering, including by providing weapons to the parties. What we lack is a strong commitment of the international community for a true mediation to stop this war,” Guterres said.

“It is also true that from the humanitarian point of view, the crisis in Sudan is much less funded than what is happening in the Middle East or in Ukraine,” he added.

President Ruto said that Kenya, along with the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (Igad), remains committed to facilitating negotiations and has pledged $1 million in humanitarian aid to support Sudanese civilians.

“Kenya continues to urge the warring parties to recognise that military solutions, if any, do not bring sustainable peace. We encourage the Sudanese stakeholders to commit to a political resolution through genuine and inclusive dialogue,” he said.

During the high-level humanitarian conference for the people of Sudan on the sidelines of the 38th ordinary assembly of the AU, President Ruto said Kenya and Igad remain fully prepared to support and facilitate efforts towards a negotiated settlement.

Mr Guterres said the UN is in the process of getting the Security Council approval for a hybrid formula that would allow it to work towards stabilising Somalia.

Read: Somalia elected non-permanent member of the UN Security Council

“On one hand, there will be a UN mission to provide support to the AU force. That UN mission will be funded 100 per cent. This will allow to fund at 75 percent the AU mission.”

“We still will have to prepare a report, because there was a commitment that we would reform in UNSOM – the UN Support Mission in Somalia – to reduce the costs. I hope the report we are preparing with the AU will be approved by the UN Security Council, and that this will allow for, hopefully in June, to put in place the mechanism of funding.”

Guterres voiced his concerns following the US administration’s decision to suspend funding to programmes in Africa.

“The truth is that the suspension of funds has had a dramatic impact in several areas. Fortunately, the emergency food was exempted,” the UN chief told the meeting.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres says the stopping of funding by the United States will affect sanitation and health, specifically the programmes started to deal with deadly illnesses like HIV/Aids, tuberculosis and malaria. He expressed hope that US President Donald Trump and his administration would resume funding the programmes in the coming three months “for the well-being of all”.

Guterres, however, lauded the US administration for indicating that the funding for the Haiti mission would be maintained. “We are very grateful to Kenya for leading this operation and for creating the possibility of hope for the people of Haiti that is suffering so much because of the actions of the police.”