UN chief pushes for Security Council reforms, permanent seat for Africa

In a high-level debate on Monday, United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, addressing Security Council said that the composition of the UNSC has failed to keep pace with a changing world

The United Nations Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres has called for a permanent seat for Africa at the UN Security Council, adding that the UNSC needs reforms, reported Al Jazeera.

During a high-level debate on Monday, the UN Chief, addressing the Security Council said that the composition of the UNSC has failed to keep pace with a changing world.

"We cannot accept that the world's preeminent peace and security body lacks a permanent voice for a continent of well over a billion people ... nor can we accept that Africa's views are undervalued on questions of peace and security, both on the continent and around the world," Guterres said, according to Al Jazeera.

The five permanent members of the 15-member UNSC--China, France, Russia, the United States, and the United Kingdom--each have the ability to veto a vote. The remaining 10 non-permanent seats are distributed regionally.

Among the ten seats are three for African states, two for Latin America and the Caribbean, two for Asia-Pacific, two for Western Europe and other states, and one for Eastern Europe, Al Jazeera reported.

The UNSC demanded in May that African nations play a bigger role in tackling issues related to global security and development.

Meanwhile, the UN General Assembly President Dennis Francis said at the debate that the UN must reflect the world as it is.

"The fact that Africa continues to be manifestly underrepresented on the Security Council is simply wrong, offending as it does both the principles of equity and inclusion," he said.

"It runs counter to the principle of sovereign equality of states and calls for the urgency to reform this institution to reflect the world as it is now, rather than what it was nearly 80 years ago," Francis added.