African leaders are amplifying calls for significant reforms to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), highlighting longstanding issues of representation and accountability. 

Their efforts underscore a growing consensus among African nations for permanent representation, aiming to ensure that the continent’s 1.4bn citizens are adequately represented in global governance.

During the 79th session of the UN General Assembly (UGNA) this week, Kenyan President William Ruto was among those who criticised the current structure of the UNSC, calling it dysfunctional, undemocratic, non-inclusive, unaccountable, autocratic, and opaque, Citizen Digital reported on September 26.

Currently, the UNSC consists of 15 members, including five permanent members with veto power—China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The other ten members serve two-year terms, with Africa holding only three rotating seats. This structure has led to perceptions of inequity, especially as many African nations were under colonial rule when the UNSC was formed, Leadership reported on September 24.

Ruto said the exclusion of the continent from decision-making processes is unacceptable.

“An institution that excludes 54 African countries, representing 1.4bn people while allowing one nation to veto decisions of the remaining 193 member states, is unacceptable,” Ruto stated. “We must urgently seek to make the Security Council truly representative, inclusive, transparent, effective and accountable.”

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa took a similar stance, saying, “Placing the fate of the world’s security in the hands of a select few when it is the vast majority who bear the brunt of these threats is unjust, unfair and unsustainable,” referring to African participation in UN missions across the globe.

This plea for reform is not new. In 2005, the African Union adopted the so-called Ezulwini Consensus in Ethiopia for Africa to have at least two permanent and five nonpermanent seats at the UNSC, as VOA noted in a report on African calls for reform.

Nor is that call just a matter of representation at the world body; it is part of a broader movement within Africa to secure a voice in international discussions that affect their futures, and it coincides with broader discussions about the functionality of multilateral institutions.

Despite a united front on the need for reform, internal divisions within Africa could hinder progress. Patrick Agbambu, founder of the Security Watch Africa Initiative, noted that the biggest threat to Africa getting that seat is Africa itself.

He emphasised the need for a cohesive African voice to push for representation effectively. Recent support from the United States, which has indicated openness to two African seats on the UNSC without veto power, adds a new dimension to this ongoing debate, the Maravi Post reported on September 26.

As discussions about reform continue, the path forward remains complex. While African representation on the UNSC is seen as a vital step, experts caution that it alone will not resolve deeper issues of stability and governance within the continent.

Senator Iroegbu remarked, “Just being a member of [the] UN Security Council doesn't guarantee stability at home if all the factors causing insecurity are not well addressed.”