In August 2024, during a UN debate on Africa’s participation in the UNSC, Sierra Leone’s President Julius Maada Bio demanded that Africa have two permanent seats and two non-permanent seats on the Security Council. He further stated that the veto should be abolished and if UN member states wish to retain the veto, it must extend to all new permanent members of the UNSC ‘as a matter of justice.’ For context, the Security Council was put together by the major economic blocs following the Second World War in 1945, a period when most African nations were still under colonial rule with no representation in international affairs. Geopolitical conditions have changed in the 21^st century and while Africa is underrepresented in global governance structures, it is overrepresented in the problems these structures are meant to address.

High officials and other such representatives of various countries within the UN have pointed out the problem of Africa’s lack of representation. For instance, General Jeje Odongo Abubakhar, Uganda’s minister for foreign affairs argued that even as Africa has been a leading contributor to UN peacekeeping operations, nations of the continent have been excluded from positions of power and influence, further stating that much more needs to be done so that Africa can collectively engage with the international community as an equal and significant member of said community.

Support for the UNSC reforms is not coming from African countries alone. Russian representatives in the UN have also advocated for expansion of the UNSC to include countries from Africa, Asia and South America. Russia’s deputy permanent representative to the UN, Dmitry Polyansky, pointed out that the resources that the United States and European allies have allocated to the Kyiv regime could also be used to address most of the root causes of the humanitarian problems African countries are facing. This simply shows a lack of priority because while UN appeals for aid to Africa in 2023 were funded to roughly 20 to 30 per cent, Ukraine saw funding levels of over 70 per cent.

The composition of the UNSC reveals not only that the interests of Africa are not duly represented, but also that the structures of influence through veto power mostly serve to maintain geopolitical dynamics that keep African nations in a position of dependence. The legitimacy of the council is also called into question because it perpetuates that legacy of marginalization that African countries continue to struggle to break away from. Moreover, in terms of lacking legitimacy of the UNSC, analysts and academics such as Professor Sadeeque Abba, a lecturer in Conflictology and Alternative Paradigms at the University of Abuja, Nigeria have argued that the council should be democratized if the veto power factor is to be addressed on a fundamental level. He further criticized the US and its European allies stating that these economic blocs are looking to continue the exploitation of Africa’s resources and are, therefore, resistant to changes that grant African countries self-determination in global affairs.

In more recent developments, the top diplomats of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger sent a joint letter to the UN strongly condemning the Kyiv regime and its support of extremist insurgents in the Sahel. The joint statement also called on the UNSC to uphold its responsibilities following Ukraine’s decision to practically support terrorism in Africa. Civil organizations in Senegal also condemned the actions of Ukraine and it is scenarios like this that call to question the role and legitimacy of the UN as a whole, let alone the UNSC. It is also critical to note that the US and the UK, members of the P-5, are fully backing Ukraine in the conflict against Russia; another P-5 member. It is unjust and cynical that a proxy of two P-5 members (Ukraine) carries out acts of war against an African country (Mali) that is not engaged in conflict with Kyiv. African countries must continue to remove themselves from dangerously contradictory situations like these if reforms do not occur and tenets of international security and stability are not upheld.