Oyala, Equatorial Guinea, Friday 24 November 2023 – His Excellency President Dr Julius Maada Bio has received a goodwill message from the United Nations Secretary General, António Guterres, through a representative at the consultative summit of the African Union Committee of Ten (C-10) Heads of State and Government on the reform of the United Nations Security Council.
“The Secretary General has continuously advocated for reform of the Security Council. Recently, on 19 September [2023], in his address delivered at the opening of the 78th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, the Secretary General called for the redesigning of the international governance architecture, so that it becomes truly universal and serves as a global safety net for developing countries.
“Additionally, we are conscious that up to 60% of the Security Council’s agenda is on issues pertaining to the African continent. The continent is also host to the highest number of UN peacekeeping operations. In that context, it is absolutely legitimate and a matter of equity for Africa to be better represented in the Security Council.
“The Secretary General has also called for urgent progress in the intergovernmental negotiations on the reform of the Security Council to make this body more just and representative. He has also stressed that the reforms of the Security Council membership must be accompanied by the genuine democratisation of its working methods and procedures as a way to enhance the Council’s ability to reach consensus and make the results of its decisions more impactful and durable.
“The security general has gone further and made some specific recommendations including and I quote: ‘firstly more burden sharing among council members on resolutions, in particular, on situations in the region to which they are not a party. Secondly, systematic consultations with host states ahead of the adoption of renewal of mandates that affect them as well as with regional organisations and troops and police-contributing countries as appropriate. And thirdly, promoting greater accountability of permanent members for the use of the veto”.
In his address as Coordinator of the C-10, His Excellency President Julius Maada Bio weighed in on the question of historical injustice, noting that by reason of colonialism and its vestiges, Africa was not being represented in the Permanent Category and was grossly underrepresented in the Non-Permanent Category of the UN Security Council.
“In this regard, enhanced engagement could mean to properly situate ourselves to take advantage of any opportunity that may arise from the efforts of the IGN 9 the intergovernmental negotiations) Co-Chairs, Member States, and Interest Groups. For instance, to either develop a holistic plan for the reform of the UN Security Council or advocate for the treatment of Africa as a special case and be prioritised,” he established.
The President, therefore, emphasised the point made by the UN Secretary General’s representative, adding that the extant five permanent members, (also known as the Permanent Five, Big Five, or P5), were, therefore, key to the reform process and that any engagement with them would provide an opportunity for a breakthrough in the seeming deadlock in the intergovernmental negotiations process.
“It will be a challenging task, but it is an opportunity we cannot afford to ignore. I reported to the AU Assembly in February this year that I had fruitful discussions with President Biden of the United States on the margins of the Africa-US Summit in December last year on UN Security Council Reform, and he promised to lead in developing a plan for the eventual reform of the Council.
“As a follow-up to my discussion with the US President, the C-10 Ambassadors in New York had very fruitful and constructive discussions with the US Ambassador to the United Nations, in which she revealed she had been tasked to consult with all Interest Groups and Key Member States with a view to developing a viable reform plan for presentation to Member States,” he noted.
President Bio also stated that that was why they, as C-10 Heads of State and Government, must engage all P-5 members to build on ongoing efforts, and to that end proposed that they tasked their officials to come up with an engagement plan and aide memoire to assist the Committee’s engagements with the P-5 members.
“I am pleased to inform you that I have tasked my Mission in New York to use the Sierra Leone Presidency of the UN Security Council in August 2024 to hold a high-level event, one of our signature events, on the reform of the UN Security Council and the imperative to address the historical injustice done to Africa.
“The event will offer an unparalleled opportunity for Africa to speak with one voice, calling for us to be treated as a special case and prioritised. Sierra Leone will be greatly honoured by your participation in this important signature event,” he concluded.
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