By:
H.E. MR. AMARA S. M. SOWA
AMBASSADOR/DEPUTY PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE
Mr. President of the General Assembly, Excellencies, Distinguished Delegates,
I am honoured to speak, on behalf of the African Union Member States. I thank you, Mr. President for convening this Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly dedicated to adopting the draft oral decision under agenda item 121 “Question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and other matters related to the Security Council.”.
We acknowledge your insightful remarks and thank you for your outstanding guidance and leadership during the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly. Furthermore, we are grateful for your encouragement and dedication to infuse vitality into the IGN process.
We would like to express our appreciation for the hard work of the Co-Chairs, H.E. Tareq Albanai, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the State of Kuwait to the United Nations, and H.E. Alexander Marschik, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of the Republic of Austria to the United Nations. They have facilitated this year’s rigorous reform process and provided us with their “Revised Elements Paper on Convergences and Divergences on the question of equitable representation on and increase in the membership of the Security Council and related matters.”
Mr. President,
At today’s meeting, we wish to register our deep appreciation to all Member States, Interests and Regional Groups for their unwavering support and empathy for the Common African Position and the fight to correct the historical injustice against Africa. Let me also register Africa’s sincere gratitude to the Co-Chairs and welcome the general convergence that has emerged from the IGN session, as reflected in the Co-Chairs’ Revised Elements Paper under the section of General Convergences and Divergences: “There is a wider recognition and broader support by Member States for the legitimate aspiration of the African countries to play their rightful role on the global stage, including through an increased presence in the Security Council, as reflected in the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration adopted by the African Union in 2005. Redressing the historical injustice against Africa is viewed as a priority, and several delegations emphasized that Africa should be treated as a special case”.
This is reaffirmed in the final text – paragraph 1a. of the IGN inputs to the Summit of the Future – Pact for the Future emphasizing the need to “Redress the historical injustice against Africa as a priority and, while treating Africa as a special case, improve the representation of the underrepresented and unrepresented regions and groups, such as Asia-Pacific and Latin America and the Caribbean.”.
These assertions in these two critical documents are a crucial demand of the African Union Heads of State and Government, and it is a promising development in the reform process that this view is included in the Pact for the Future. We now have an opportunity to translate this decision into action during the upcoming Summit of the
Future, potentially achieving concrete results in the reform process. We must demonstrate the necessary political will to reform the United Nations, ensuring its pivotal role in global governance and establishing a world order based on principles of fairness and universalism.
Africa will continue to urge all Member States, Interests and Regional Groups to demonstrate their renewed commitment to correcting the historical injustice done to Africa. Africa’s prioritization in the reform of the Security Council is key to creating a more inclusive, democratic, transparent, accountable, legitimate, and efficient organ.
Mr. President,
Going forward, the African Group anticipates engaging constructively with all Member States and Interest Groups. We aim to build on the progress made during the 78th session of the IGN in the next session, to create common ground and minimize the remaining divergences that still exist.
We appreciate the Co-Chairs’ recognition in their document of the widespread support from a substantial number of Member States for the enlargement of both the permanent and non-permanent membership categories of the Security Council in the Revised Elements Paper.
Additionally, we look forward to seeing the wide and broad support garnered in favour of the Common African position be taken into consideration in the next IGN session, especially concerning the allocation of seats in both the permanent and non-permanent categories of the Security Council and with particular emphasis on treating Africa as a special case and priority in the IGN process. There is no gainsaying that Council in both the permanent and nonpermanent categories will make the Security Council “more broadly representative, efficient and transparent, and thus to enhance its effectiveness and the legitimacy and implementation of its decisions”.
Mr. President,
Let me also seize this opportunity to equally commend you, for circulating the draft oral decision indicating that the positions of and proposals made by Member States, as reflected in the Framework Document and its annex circulated by the President of the 69th Session and the “CoChairs’ Revised Elements Paper on Convergences and Divergences” be rolled over to the 79th Session of the General Assembly.
The African Group remains committed to reforming the Security Council and we will continue to engage in the IGN process in building consensus in the spirit of General Assembly Decision 62/557 and other relevant General Assembly Decisions for a comprehensive reform of the Security Council considering the inter-connectedness of the five clusters. We do hope that the documents rolled over to the 79th Session of the UNGA will be built upon in good faith and a transparent manner through a membership-driven process.
We extend our sincere appreciation to all Member States, Interests, and Regional Groups for their steadfast support of the Common African Position outlined in the Ezulwini Consensus and Sirte Declaration. Collaboration with all of you is vital to advancing the progress made in support of our shared Common African Position. We invite you all to join us in correcting the historical injustices inflicted upon the African continent and its people.
I would close by expressing Africa’s gratitude for the efforts of all Member States in committing to an open and fair process that resulted in a unanimous decision. The C10 of the African Group has unanimously agreed to adopt this oral decision by consensus to prioritize unity and trust among the membership and to further the reform of the Security Council in accordance with the UN Charter, the 2005 World Summit Outcome, and Decision 62/557.
I Thank you!
