New York, Sept 22. (dpa/GA) – The president of the UN General Assembly, Khalilur Rahman, opened Tuesday’s General Debate in New York, with a call for stronger representation for Africa in the global organization’s most powerful body.
“Africa needs to be at the table, not on the menu,” Rahman told the assembly. “Africa cannot be asked to wait indefinitely for its rightful place on the [UN] Security Council.” Ending the continent’s underrepresentation now “is a matter of fairness, justice, and ultimately the credibility of this organization,” added Rahman, a career diplomat and economist from Bangladesh. He took over the one-year rotating position from former German foreign minister, Annalena Baerbock.
Africa is currently not represented among the five permanent members of the UN Security Council. Presently, three African states, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia and Somalia, sit as non-permanent members on the 15-member body.
As part of a reform, the African Union is demanding at least two permanent and five non-permanent seats for the continent.
GNA