Africa’s longstanding campaign for permanent representation on the United Nations Security Council returned to the forefront at the 81st UN General Assembly in New York, where leaders renewed appeals to restructure a body whose five permanent members have remained unchanged since 1945. UN Secretary-General António Guterres used his address to state that the Council must become more representative and reflect contemporary geopolitical realities, describing Africa’s lack of permanent representation as unjust and indefensible.
Addressing delegates at the global summit, Nigerian Vice President Kashim Shettima delivered President Bola Tinubu’s national statement, declaring that the world of 2026 cannot remain captive to the distribution of power established in 1945. In alignment with the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration, Nigeria demanded at least two permanent seats for Africa—complete with all rights and responsibilities, including the veto for as long as it exists—along with five non-permanent seats in total for the continent.
Structural Imbalances and the Centrality of Africa
The Security Council currently comprises 15 members: five permanent members holding veto power—China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States—and 10 non-permanent members elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms. Despite having 54 UN member states and representing the largest single bloc in the organization, Africa holds no permanent seat on the Council, occupying only three non-permanent seats.
Ghana’s President John Mahama emphasized during the assembly that reform is an imperative for the legitimacy, credibility, and survival of the United Nations. This structural imbalance is further underscored by the volume of Council business dedicated to the continent. In 2025, the Council adopted 44 resolutions, including 24 under Chapter VII of the UN Charter concerning sanctions and authorizations for the use of force. Eighteen of those 24 Chapter VII resolutions addressed Africa.
Professor Ibrahim Gambari, a former Nigerian foreign minister and former permanent representative to the UN, noted that the status quo is resistant to change because the unelected permanent five members do not wish to relinquish their privileges. Somalia President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud also addressed the Assembly, describing Africa’s exclusion as a historical injustice affecting 54 sovereign states, while Kenyan President William Ruto highlighted the contradiction of five nations possessing permanent power over war and peace while 188 others do not.
Obstacles to Reform and the Veto Question
Translating these demands into an agreement that alters the Council’s structure remains difficult due to rigid institutional hurdles. The General Assembly launched intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform in 2008, but progress has stalled. Under Article 108 of the UN Charter, any amendment requires approval by two-thirds of the General Assembly and ratification by two-thirds of UN members, including all five permanent members.
This requirement gives the existing permanent members a formal role in any change to a system that grants them permanent membership and veto power. Determining which specific African countries would occupy new permanent seats remains an unresolved internal question, though the African Union would determine representation under common proposals, and Nigeria has consistently positioned itself as prepared to take on such a role.
Diplomatic stances among the existing permanent members vary. While the United States previously expressed support for two permanent African seats under a prior administration, the current administration has not reaffirmed that position, and France has expressed support in principle while the remaining three permanent members have offered no clear endorsement.
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