The United States announced on Thursday that it will support the addition of two permanent seats for African nations to the United National Security Council (UNSC) as long as they do not have veto rights and a non-permanent seat for a small island developing country, according to a report from AP.
US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield stated in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations, calling it a follow-up to U.S. President Joe Biden’s announcement two years ago that the U.S. supports expanding the 15-member body.
While Africa has three non-permanent seats on the Security Council, that doesn’t allow African countries “to deliver the full benefit of their knowledge and voices,” she said.
“That is why, in addition to non-permanent membership for African countries, the United States supports creating two permanent seats for Africa on the council,” Thomas-Greenfield said. “It’s what our African partners seek, and it’s what we believe is just.”
However, Thomas-Greenfield later said Washington opposes giving veto power to the African countries that would hold the two permanent seats because the veto makes the Security Council’s work “dysfunctional.”
The decision to grant two permanent seats to African nations on the U.N. Security Council, without extending veto power, raises questions about its impact.
Veto power is a key aspect of permanent members of the council. The decision to add two permanent African member nations would be practically null and would not affect the balance of the UNSC. While it may boost African representation, the balance of influence within the council remains unchanged.
African leaders have already expressed discontent with the “unbalanced and outdated” UNSC structure. In August, President Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone called for increased African representation in the UN.
“The time for half-measures and incremental progress is over. Africa must be heard, and its demands for justice and equity must be met,” Bio emphasized.
The U.N. Secretary-General has responded to similar calls, advocating for a reformed Council structure with greater African representation.
Nearly eight decades after the founding of the United Nations following World War II, there is widespread agreement that the Security Council needs to expand to better reflect the 21st century and incorporate more diverse voices. However, the key point of contention remains how to achieve this reform.
The Security Council, which is supposedly responsible for maintaining global peace and security, has retained its original structure from 1945. It consists of 10 non-permanent members from various regions, elected for two-year terms without veto power, and five permanent members with veto power: the United States, Russia, China, Britain, and France—countries that were dominant powers at the end of World War II.
Russia’s veto, for example, has blocked any action by the council on the war in Ukraine, while U.S. support for Israel has limited the council’s response to the conflict in Gaza.
Efforts to reform the council began as far back as 1979. In 2005, world leaders called for a more “representative, efficient, and transparent” Security Council. However, deep divisions remain, as evidenced by the General Assembly’s shelving of three rival resolutions that year to expand its membership.
In September 2022, President Joe Biden advocated for adding both permanent and non-permanent members, including permanent seats for African, Latin American, and Caribbean nations, alongside long-supported seats for Germany, Japan, and India.
Although the US Ambassador to the U.N. did not address Biden’s call for permanent seats for Latin America and the Caribbean, a senior U.S. official reaffirmed U.S. support for permanent seats for those regions, in addition to Africa.
Addressing concerns that U.N. reform should go beyond regional representation, Thomas-Greenfield also announced U.S. backing for a new rotating seat for small island developing nations, highlighting that these 39 states, home to 65 million people, bring crucial insights on issues like climate change.
She concluded by stating that the U.S. intends to formalize its reform plans by drafting a resolution to expand the council’s membership.