Egypt’s Foreign Minister dr. Badr Abdelatty on Saturday renewed calls for sweeping reform of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), saying Africa continues to suffer from “historical injustice” due to its underrepresentation in the body.
Africa currently has no permanent representation on the council, despite making up more than a quarter of UN member states and featuring prominently on the Security Council’s agenda.
Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty made the remarks during a meeting with Michael Imran Kanu, Sierra Leone’s permanent representative to the United Nations (UN) and chair of the African Union’s (AU) Committee of Ten (C-10) on Security Council reform.
Abdelatty said reform of the council is necessary to correct what he described as a long-standing imbalance that excludes Africa from permanent representation in the UN’s most powerful decision-making body.
He warned against partial or selective reform proposals, arguing that they would dilute Africa’s unified position as set out in the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration, which outline the continent’s demands on council reform.
Abdelatty said Africa is entitled to two permanent seats with full powers, including veto rights, as well as five non-permanent seats, in any expanded Security Council, citing the continent’s size, political weight, and growing role in global affairs.
He also praised Sierra Leone’s leadership of the C-10, which coordinates the African Union’s position in UN intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform.
The Ezulwini Consensus, adopted in 2005, calls for full equality between Africa and other regions within the Security Council, while the Sirte Declaration reaffirmed that position as Africa’s unified negotiating framework.
Egyptian FM to Kenyan counterpart :Egypt welcomes Nile Basin consultative steps to restore consensus
