UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for urgent reform of the Security Council, criticising its outdated structure and lack of representation for Africa, which he argued undermines the body’s credibility and global legitimacy.
Guterres made the call while addressing the Security Council on Monday, emphasising that its composition reflected the balance of power at the end of World War Two and has failed to keep pace with a changing world.
“In 1945, most of today’s African countries were still under colonial rule and had no voice in international affairs,” he said.
“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 underscored the need to correct the injustice and redress it.
“Ensuring this Council’s full credibility and legitimacy means heeding the longstanding calls from the UN General Assembly, various geographic groups…to correct this injustice,” he said.
Guterres recalled his policy brief, New Agenda for Peace, launched in July 2023. The framework lies at the heart of negotiations over the Pact of the Future, to be adopted at next month’s Summit of the Future.
“The Summit provides a critical opportunity to make progress on these issues, and help ensure that all countries can meaningfully participate in global governance structures as equals,” the UN chief told ambassadors.
“I urge all Member States to attend and contribute their views and ideas so that African voices are heard, African initiatives are supported, and African needs are met.”
Guterres was speaking at a high-level discussion on addressing the historical injustice and enhancing Africa’s effective representation on the UN Security Council, chaired by Sierra Leone, Council President for August.
The 15-member UN Security Council comprises five permanent members with veto rights – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States – while the remaining 10 non-permanent seats are distributed regionally.
The regional distribution includes three seats for African states; two each for Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Western Europe and Other states; and one for Eastern European states.
The question of equitable representation has been on the agenda for several years, including through the UN General Assembly’s open-ended working party and intergovernmental talks to address the issue.
There has been some limited reform, such as the recent automatic scheduling of an Assembly debate whenever a veto is cast, aiming to enhance transparency and accountability within the Council.
However, calls for significant reform continue, particularly from underrepresented regions.
Following Guterres’s remarks, Dennis Francis, President of the UN General Assembly, also addressed the Security Council.
He highlighted Africa’s key role in global peace and security, further underscoring the need for reform.
He drew on his own visits, citing firsthand experiences in South Sudan, where he met a few weeks ago with internally displaced persons (IDPs) and witnessed the vital work of the UN Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS).
Francis also shared insights from his meetings in Haiti, where he discussed the deployment of the Kenyan-led Multinational Security Support Mission (MSS) following the adoption of Council resolution 2699.
These reflected Africa’s significant and growing role in addressing global security challenges, he argued.
Assembly President Francis also pointed out that the UN General Assembly is actively addressing the issue through intergovernmental talks and urged Member States to engage constructively towards significant reform.
“Our objective is to create solutions, along a well-designed process. And most importantly, to regain the trust and confidence of ‘we the peoples’ of the United Nations,” he said, recounting the first words of the Preamble of the UN Charter.
