By Philip Tengzu
Wa, (UW/R), Sept. 30, GNA – A study has proposed a well-coordinated three-pronged strategy by African countries to push for reforms that would give the continent greater influence on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
The study, by IBN Yussif Duranah Abdul-Mumin Seidu, the Upper West Regional Public Relations Officer, Ghana Immigration Service, said Africa’s continued participation in the UNGA had not translated into the structural representation it had long desired at the UNSC.
The proposed strategy comprised a temporary coordinated diplomatic boycott of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), a counter-summit in Addis Ababa and conditional re-engagement with the UN system.
The paper said though Africa had 54 member states in the United Nations, the continent had no permanent seat on the UNSC, despite the Council being the principal UN organ responsible for international peace and security.
It argued that the arrangement created a structural imbalance because the five permanent members of the UNSC – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States – had veto powers over substantive Council decisions.
The study described Africa’s current role in the UN system as having more “noise” than “voice”, arguing that African leaders were given opportunities to address the UNGA but lacked corresponding binding decision-making power within the UNSC.
“While Africa contributes significant peacekeeping personnel and constitutes the majority of the UNSC’s agenda, it remains a norm-taker rather than a norm-maker”, the paper said.
It said the situation called for a strategic reassessment of Africa’s engagement with the UN, particularly as repeated appeals for Security Council reform had yet to produce the permanent representation the continent needed.
The study, therefore, recommended a “Coordinated Diplomatic Boycott (CDB)”, involving a temporary collective absence of the 54 African countries from the UNGA.
It said the proposed action would serve as a bargaining strategy to draw attention to Africa’s demand for structural reforms at the UNSC.
It also proposed that the African Union (AU) should convene a counter-summit in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, to enable African leaders to coordinate their position on UN reform.
The study said the proposed summit should reaffirm the Common African Position, including the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration, which call for permanent African representation on the UNSC.
It noted that the AU’s Common African Position had called for at least two permanent seats for Africa on the UNSC, with the full prerogatives of permanent membership, including veto rights for as long as the veto continued to exist.
Thirdly, the study proposed a “conditional re-engagement” with the UNGA on a time-bound roadmap for UNSC reforms.
The study also raised concerns about the financial implications of African countries’ annual participation in the UNGA.
It cited expenditure on accommodation, transportation, delegation logistics and other related activities, arguing that such expenditure should be assessed against the diplomatic benefits derived from participation.
GNA
Edited by Benjamin Mensah
Reporter: Philip Tengzu, GNA
Reporter’s email address: [email protected]