The United States supports the creation of two permanent seats for African countries on the United Nations Security Council and one rotating seat for small island developing countries, US Ambassador to the United Nations Linda Thomas-Greenfield announced Thursday, September 12.
The move comes as Washington looks to calm its relations with Africa, where many countries are unhappy with the US administration’s support for Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip, and also strengthen its ties with Pacific nations, to counter China’s push for influence in the region.
The most powerful body of the United Nations.
Linda Thomas-Greenfield told Reuters news agency she hoped efforts would move towards reforming the UN Security Council, adding that it was part of the legacy that US President Joe Biden would leave behind. Washington has also long supported the entry of India, Japan and Germany as permanent members of the Security Council.
While developing countries have long sought permanent seats on the Security Council, the United Nations’ most powerful body, it is unclear whether U.S. efforts could prove successful, as years of discussions on council reform have been in vain.
Ahead of her announcement at the State Department in New York, Linda Thomas-Greenfield told Reuters the United States did not want veto power to be granted to any country beyond the five members that currently hold it: Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom and the United States.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres supports the reform of the Security Council, which “It corresponds exactly to the situation after the Second World War (…) ». the council “It has a legitimacy problem, it has an effectiveness problem and it needs to be reformed”told Reuters on Wednesday.
Any change to the structure of the UN Security Council must be enshrined in the UN Charter, which requires approval by two-thirds of the General Assembly, including the five veto-wielding countries on the Council.
