African leaders slam ‘unfair’ representation of continent at UN Security Council

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa and Senegalese President Macky Sall on Tuesday denounced the "unfair" representation of Africa in the UN Security Council, regretting that no nation in the continent is a permanent member.

The Senegalese leader said he was in favor of discussions with non-African countries with a view to reforms so that Africa obtains at least two seats as permanent members, with all the prerogatives of current permanent members.

"... what is certain is that it is unfair that the African continent, with 54 countries, is not represented as a permanent member of the Security Council. With South Africa, with all the other countries, we will continue to fight to stop this injustice to Africa. " Sall said.

The African continent usually has two to three non-permanent seats on the Security Council, currently held by Kenya, Tunisia and Niger. Gabon and Ghana will replace Tunisia and Niger on January 1, 2022.

Ramaphosa said this is unfair, calling for a permanent representation of the African people.

"We want fairness, we want Africa to be well-represented and to be heard, because it cannot be fair that 1.3 billion people's views and thoughts cannot be heard at that high level in the same way that the views of the countries which have the veto right are heard."

The South African leader arrived Monday in the Senegalese capital where he participated in the Forum for Peace and Security in Africa.

The seventh edition of the Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security in Africa took place in Senegal on Monday and Tuesday.

The forum had witnessed several meetings and debates among experts and leaders with the aim of finding solutions to the problems in the region, as well as finding solutions to the crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic.

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