Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni called for UN Security Council reforms on Thursday, saying that permanent representation for Africa will prevent aggression against the continent.
Museveni addressed a gathering of high-ranking officials from ten of the African Union’s 55 countries. The conference is the most recent in a series concentrating on Security Council changes that will benefit Africa’s 1.3 billion inhabitants. At least two permanent seats with veto power and two non-permanent seats were requested at a previous meeting.
The U.N. Security Council should have been and must be reformed, Museveni said. This is not favoured by anybody but a right of all peoples that inhabit the planet Earth.
For decades, the issue of overhauling the 15-member council has sparked heated debate. Its five permanent members, the United States, China, Russia, France, and the United Kingdom, reflect the international power structure at the end of World War II.
The remaining ten seats on the council are filled by members who serve two-year terms. Gabon, Kenya, and Ghana are among the 15 non-permanent members of the council.
African leaders, on the other hand, have long argued for the continent’s entitlement to greater participation on the council.
The current system, Museveni said, is unfair, and Africa needs a permanent seat to ensure that it is not utilized negatively against Africa, but rather favourably for Africa and the rest of the globe.
The Ugandan president added that reforms would prevent mistakes like the ouster of Muammar Gadhafi, the late Libyan leader who reigned for nearly 42 years until being deposed by an uprising in 2011. Two months later, he was apprehended and executed.
Despite considerable support for updating the Security Council to reflect modern global realities, attempts have been hampered by national and regional rivalry.
Deep disagreements forced the General Assembly to put three competing resolutions on expansion on hold in 2005. One proposal was for Germany, Japan, Brazil, and India to have permanent seats on a 25-member council with no veto power.
A group of middle-ranking countries including Italy and Pakistan requested a 25-member council with 10 non-permanent seats. And the African Union wanted a 26-member council with six additional permanent seats, including two for Africa with veto power, and five non-permanent seats.
