Sierra Leone’s president uses UN Security Council presidency to urge more seats for Africa

UNITED NATIONS — After decades of searching for a bigger voice in the United Nations “The most powerful body, Africa, cannot wait any longer,” Sierra Leone’s president told the Security Council on Monday.

President Julius Maada Bio, chairing a meeting convened by his country, urged a longstanding attempt by African countries to gain more council seatsincluding two permanent and potentially veto-able positions.

“The time for half measures and incremental progress is over. Africa must be heard and demands for justice and fairness must be met,” said Bio, who called his continent the “undoubted victim” of an unbalanced, outdated and unrepresentative Security Council structure.

It wasn’t the first time the council has heard calls to expand and reform its membership — and African countries aren’t the only ones seeking greater representation. While there’s a general sense that the council needs to change, discussions have stalled over differences over how much the group should expand, which countries should be included and what powers it should have.

But Bio’s presence put an exclamation mark on the issue ahead of a UN “Summit of the Future” and the annual General Assembly of presidents, prime ministers and monarchs, both of which are scheduled for next month.

Some countries are hoping for momentum from the summit, which is meant to generate a broadly shared new vision for what international cooperation should look like in this century. The latest version of the summit’s potential “Pact for the Future” calls Security Council reform a priority and promises an “ambitious” outcome, with specific language still to come.

“We are sure it is a matter of time, because the gatekeepers will find it difficult to let us in,” Bio said at a news conference on Monday, but “we have a sincere and compelling case.”

The Security Council was established in 1945 to keep the peace after World War II. The council can impose sanctions, conduct peacekeeping missions and otherwise pass resolutions that are legally binding but sometimes ignored.

Its composition reflects the post-war power structure and a period when most of Africa was under European rule.

The United States, Russia, China, Britain and France are permanent, veto-wielding members. Ten other seats — originally six, until an expansion in 1965 — go to countries that serve two-year terms without a veto. The broader General Assembly elects them by region, with three seats for Africa.

African countries and many others have argued that the arrangement shortchanges the continent on global fastest growing populationnow 1.3 billion. The continent’s 54 countries make up 28% of the UN’s member states. Five of the UN’s 11 current peacekeeping operations are in Africa, as are four of the top 10 countries in terms of sending troops.

The African Union, a regional group, has summoned for two additional elected seats – bringing the total to five – and two permanent seats for countries on the continent.

The permanent seats in particular “need to be addressed urgently,” Namibia’s Foreign Minister Peya Mushelenga told the council on Monday.

Any changes to the council’s composition would be up to the General Assembly, which has been negotiating for years. Assembly President Dennis Francis said Monday that Africa was “clearly underrepresented” in the council and that the status quo was “simply wrong.”

But UN member states have floated a wide range of ideas for changing the council, and any move to accommodate Africa would likely generate pressure to consider other proposals. The United States, for example, supports adding permanent seats for countries in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean, and others.

“Let’s stop admiring the problem here. We need to work toward solutions,” U.S. Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield, who has previously posted to several African countries, told the council.

Bio, whose country currently holds the council’s rotating presidency, urged the group to prioritize his continent in any structural changes.

“Africa cannot wait any longer,” he said.