
The United States has proposed a significant overhaul of the United Nations Security Council, calling for two permanent seats to be reserved for African nations and a rotating seat for small developing island states. This would mark a major departure from the Council’s current composition, which has remained largely unchanged for decades.
While the new African representatives would not possess veto power, unlike the current permanent members, the US believes this proposal would enhance African representation and address longstanding concerns about the Council’s legitimacy.
The proposal, announced by US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield, aligns with the growing calls for reform within the international organization. However, any changes to the Security Council would require unanimous agreement among the five permanent members and ratification by two-thirds of the UN’s 193 member states.
The United Nations has welcomed the US proposal as a positive step towards greater African representation. While the details of the reform process still need to be worked out, the announcement reflects a growing recognition of the need to modernize the Security Council to better reflect the world’s current geopolitical realities.