Correcting 'Historical Injustices': Mozambique Demands 2 Permanent UNSC Seats For Africa

This year, Mozambique, which was welcomed to the UN Security Council after winning for the first time a non-permanent seat for two years, chairs the 15-nation body. This comes at a time when African countries are calling for a more representative Council, where Africa, like other regions, would have two permanent seats.

Africa should have two permanent seats and five non-permanent seats at the United Nations Security Council, said Ambassador Pedro Comissario Afonso, the head of the Republic of Mozambique's Permanent Mission to the UN during a Wednesday press conference dedicated to his country's presidency in the UNSC this month.

With regard to the reform of the Security Council, Mozambique is guided by the fact that "Africa is a victim of a historical injustice", and therefore Africa deserves two permanent seats in the UN Security Council and five non-permanent seats, Afonso said, adding that this is his country's principled position, and Mozambique has been "fighting for that."

The ambassador, who is the current UNSC president, added that the issue of reforing the council is "a complex process" and that despite ongoing negotiations, there have been no results so far.

Established in 1945 after the Second World War, the UN Security Council is tasked with maintaining international peace and security, including the deployment of peacekeeping forces, enacting international sanctions, and authorizing military action. It consists of 15 member states, of whom five are permanent (China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States), while the other 10 members are non-permanent and are elected to two-year terms, representing different world regions.

Africa, which is home to 54 member states of the UN, is represented at the Security Council by three non-permanent seats, currently filled by Ghana, Gabon, and Mozambique.

The question of Africa's representation at the UNSC has long been raised by the African Union, which called for a more representative and democratic council, where Africa, like other regions, would be represented by two permanent states, along with an additional two non-permanent seats. In 2005, the AU adopted the Ezulwini Consensus, a position on international relations and reform of the United Nations.

In February, the AU's Political Affairs, Peace, and Security Commissioner Bankole Adeoye told reporters on the sidelines of the African Union summit of heads of state in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, that the UNSC should acknowledge and correct "historical injustices" affecting Africa.

"Let me be clear, it is obvious that to this world, Africa's interests are not fully catered to in the current high-level role being played in the UN Security Council," Adeoye said. "Almost 60% to 70% of the issues are African, we want to be in the driver’s seat, we want to have our voice heard, and adequate participation and effective representation would be to the benefit of the whole of the African continent."

Africa's position was supported by many countries outside the African continent, including Russia and the United States, which are both UNSC permanent members.

"Africa's representation on the Security Council at present matches neither the total number of states on the continent, nor the role that Africa plays in international affairs," Vasily Nebenzia, Russia's permanent representative to the UN, told the General Assembly in November 2022 during discussions on Security Council reform.

In mid-December 2022, US President Joe Biden also reaffirmed his country’s support for the UNSC expansion during the Second US-Africa Leaders Summit, saying that his country "fully supports reforming the U.N. Security Council to include permanent representation for Africa."