Presence in the UN Security Council
Scholz encourages African states
October 31, 2023, 6:10 p.m
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Despite making up more than a quarter of the members of the UN General Assembly, African states do not have a single permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council. Chancellor Scholz is therefore pushing for a reform that is “overdue”.
Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for a significant expansion of the presence of African states in the UN Security Council. “We support the effort for permanent African seats on the Security Council,” said Scholz in Ghana’s capital Accra after a meeting with President Nana Akufo-Affo. “This reform is long overdue,” he added during a visit to a training center for UN peacekeepers.
African voices are completely underrepresented in international organizations, especially when it comes to peace and security. “There is still no permanent member from the African continent in the UN Security Council, while African states bear considerable responsibility for securing peace in the world and for conflict resolution here in Africa,” criticized Scholz. Akufo-Affo also called for reform of the Security Council. With the attack on Ukraine, Russia had shown that the highest UN body was blocked, he said. Scholz emphasized that Germany was ready to accelerate reform of the UN Security Council and to enter into “text-based negotiations”.
The Chancellor did not repeat his desire for a German permanent seat. He could only encourage African states to take the lead in reform, not least because they make up more than a quarter of the members of the UN General Assembly. Scholz called for African states to generally have a stronger voice in international organizations. It is therefore a good development that the African Union (AU) has now been included in the G20 group of leading industrialized and emerging countries. Scholz had previously advocated the formation of a free trade zone in Africa in a discussion with students.
Concern for stability in West Africa
Like Akufo-Affo, Scholz was concerned about the instability caused by military coups in the Sahel zone, which borders Ghana to the north. Together we will do everything we can to maintain stability in West Africa. Ghana’s president said countries like Burkina Faso have become a hub for terrorist activities. Ghana’s neighborhood is unstable. This is a major concern, which is why security cooperation is important. The background is the concern that the political destabilization could spread to other countries in West Africa, all of which are struggling with serious economic and social problems.
It was right that the West African Economic Community ECOWAS called on the military governments in Mali, Guinea, Niger and Burkina Faso to restore democratic order in the countries, emphasized Scholz after his visits to Nigeria and Ghana. As a democratic country, Ghana is a “glimmer of hope for the region”. At the same time, he called for increased regional cooperation. “One of the worrying effects of the series of coups in the Sahel is the slowing of cooperation between the states in the Sahel and those on the Gulf of Guinea,” warned Scholz. Terrorists exploited any lack of cooperation and unity.