THE United States has announced its support for the creation of two permanent seats on the United Nations Security Council for African nations, along with a rotating seat for small island developing states. US Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, will make the announcement on Thursday, signalling Washington’s commitment to reforming the UN’s most powerful body.
This move comes as part of a broader effort by the US to strengt
hen its ties with African nations, which have expressed discontent with Washington’s stance on Israel’s conflict in Gaza. It is also part of the US strategy to build stronger relationships with Pacific Island nations, crucial for countering China’s growing influence in the region.
Thomas-Greenfield told Reuters that the initiative aims to advance Security Council reform and is a key aspect of President Joe Biden’s legacy. ‘We hope this announcement will move the agenda forward and lead to meaningful changes in the future,’ she said.
In addition to the African seats and the rotating seat for island nations, the US continues to support permanent seats for India, Japan, and Germany. However, Washington remains opposed to expanding veto power beyond the current five permanent members—Russia, China, France, the UK, and the US.
Calls for reform of the Security Council have gained traction in recent years, with many developing nations demanding greater representation on the body, which is responsible for maintaining international peace and security. Despite these demands, reform discussions have largely stalled, and it remains unclear whether US backing will provide the momentum needed to make changes.
The Security Council, originally composed of 11 members when the UN was founded in 1945, expanded to 15 members in 1965. The current structure includes five permanent, veto-wielding nations and ten non-permanent members serving two-year terms. African nations currently hold three of these rotating seats.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has been a vocal advocate for reform, citing the Council’s outdated structure as a legitimacy and effectiveness issue. ‘The Security Council still reflects the world as it was after the Second World War,’ Guterres told Reuters. ‘It needs to be reformed to better address today’s global challenges.’
Reforming the Security Council would require amending the UN Charter, a process that demands the approval of two-thirds of the General Assembly and all five permanent members of the Security Council. While the 193-member General Assembly has discussed reforms annually for over a decade, little progress has been made, particularly with geopolitical rivalries, such as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, causing deadlocks.
‘The conversation around Security Council reform has largely remained just that—a conversation,’ Thomas-Greenfield is expected to say during her speech at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York. Sh
e will call for moving beyond dialogue and advancing negotiations on a draft text to amend the UN Charter.
Though the timeframe for achieving these changes remains uncertain, Thomas-Greenfield emphasised the importance of ensuring that African nations, which currently hold rotating seats, have permanent representation. ‘These non-permanent seats don’t enable African countries to consistently lead on the challenges that affect all of us—especially those that disp
roportionately affect Africans,’ she said.
She also argued for the inclusion of small island developing states in the Security Council, highlighting their valuable insights on global issues, particularly the impact of climate change on international peace and security.
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