28 Jun South Africa’s President Ramaphosa calls for UN Security Council reform

South Africa’s President Ramaphosa has called for the UN Security Council to reform stating that Africa does not have adequate representation.

President Ramaphosa stated that Africa, with a population of 1.3 billion people, does not have permanent representation on the UN Security Council. He made the call for an urgent reform as part of his statement at the High-Level Dialogue on Global Development on the sidelines of the 2022 BRICS Leaders’ Summit, hosted by China on Friday.

He said: “As like-minded emerging market countries, we need to move from a common vision of an emerging international order to a common programme of change. We must be committed to shaping our own institutions to support the growth and development of emerging economies.

“Our vision has been to harness our common vision and resources to improve the lives of our people through mutually beneficial cooperation and to actively shape the world to benefit the Global South.”

The President called on BRICS [Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa] to approach its cooperation with a spirit of openness and solidarity, with the genuine intention to find mutual interests and build common values.

He continued: “We have the potential to leverage our combined economic strength to drive a sustainable global economic recovery.

“It is up to us, as emerging and developing economies, to put the global South on a new trajectory of progress, prosperity and self-reliance and to shape an inclusive and equitable international order.”

He also took the opportunity to express his appreciation for the BRICS chair, whilst also highlighting the need for better representation: “We all share a desire for increased representation and a progressive perspective in global governance institutions. We share a common history of struggle against imperialism, colonialism, exploitation and continued underdevelopment.

“Our ties of solidarity were forged at the Bandung Conference in 1955, which culminated in the formation of the Non-Aligned Movement.”

President Ramaphosa also highlighted that the COVID-19 pandemic further revealed the need to be connected and with pressing issues including the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the council needed to be stronger. He commented: “Urgent global issues like COVID-19, poverty, inequality, climate change and the broader sustainable development agenda have been eclipsed by the conflict.

“We must safeguard the principle of multilateralism. We need a United Nations that is fit-for-purpose and clear in its benefits to all humanity, especially in times of insecurity and crises.”