Africa’s Exclusion From Security Council Permanent Seat Unjust, Indefensible – Guterres Rips 80-Year-Old UN Power Structure

• UN Secretary-General António Guterres has demanded fundamental reform of the Security Council, saying the body still reflects the geopolitical power arrangements of the post-World War II era despite profound changes in the international system over the past 80 years.

• Guterres identified Africa as the clearest example of the Council’s failure to reflect today’s world, stressing that most of the continent was still under colonial rule when the UN was founded, yet Africa still has no permanent representation on the 15-member Security Council.

• The UN chief declared the absence of permanent African seats “unjust and indefensible”, insisting that the situation must change if the Council is to have the legitimacy and effectiveness required to address contemporary conflicts and global security threats.

• His call came as the 81st General Assembly opened amid wars, geopolitical rivalry and growing questions over the effectiveness of multilateral institutions, with the Assembly leadership also backing reform to make the Security Council more representative of current geopolitical realities.

September 23, () – United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres, has launched a fresh and forceful challenge to the 80-year-old global power structure, demanding reform of the UN Security Council and declaring Africa’s continued exclusion from permanent membership “unjust and indefensible”.

Guterres made the declaration on Tuesday in his address at the opening of the general debate of the 81st session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, where he warned that global institutions were increasingly out of step with the realities of the 21st century.

He placed Security Council reform at the heart of his broader argument that the distribution of global power has changed dramatically since the United Nations was established in 1945.

“We must also reform the Security Council so that it reflects today’s world with the legitimacy and effectiveness that today’s challenges demand”, Guterres stated.

According to him, the Council was created in the aftermath of World War II, but the world has undergone fundamental political, economic and technological transformations since then.

“The Security Council was designed in the aftermath of World War II. But the world has fundamentally changed since then. A change that is far from reflected in the Security Council”, he added.

Guterres singled out Africa as the most striking illustration of the imbalance.

“The most stunning example is Africa. When the UN was founded, most of Africa was still under colonial rule. Today, Africa still has no permanent representation on the Council.”

He delivered an unusually direct assessment of the situation, saying: “A 21st century Security Council without permanent African seats is unjust and indefensible. This must change.”

The Security Council has 15 members, comprising five permanent members and 10 members elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms. The permanent members — China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States — hold veto powers over substantive Council decisions.

Africa has no permanent seat, despite being the largest regional grouping in the United Nations and despite the Council regularly dealing with conflicts, peacekeeping operations and humanitarian crises on the continent.

The African Union has long demanded permanent representation as part of a broader reform of the international system. Its position has called for at least two permanent African seats as well as additional non-permanent representation.

Guterres’ latest intervention gives renewed prominence to that demand as world leaders gather for the annual high-level debate.

‘Power Arrangements Of 80 Years Ago’

The Secretary-General’s argument went beyond Africa, however, as he warned that the existing international system was struggling to accommodate the emergence of new centres of economic, political and technological influence.

He said the world was moving towards a multipolar order, describing the transition as irreversible.

But he warned that multipolarity could produce greater fragmentation, rivalry and mistrust if it was not anchored in effective multilateral institutions and international law.

According to Guterres, global governance mechanisms continue to reflect “the power realities and interests of a largely bygone age.”

He said the challenge was particularly urgent because humanity was facing a convergence of crises while existing mechanisms for collective action were under increasing strain.

“Building a networked future begins with a recognition, especially by superpowers, that their power isn’t so super. Their power has limits”, he said.

Guterres argued that military, economic or technological strength alone could not guarantee peace or stability.

“Military power alone cannot secure peace. Economic power alone cannot command stability. And technological power alone cannot guarantee security”, Guterres added.

He, therefore, called for a multilateral system centred on a UN that is “balanced and representative”, with institutions reflecting the changing relative weight of countries and economies rather than the arrangements of eight decades ago.

Guterres’ call comes as the effectiveness and representativeness of the Security Council face renewed scrutiny amid major conflicts and geopolitical tensions.

In his address, he linked the Council’s reform to the wider question of whether global power would be exercised within the framework of international law or outside it.

He said recent conflicts demonstrated the consequences of situations in which “force outpaces diplomacy” and accountability is weakened.

The UN Chief cited crises in the Middle East, Ukraine, Sudan and Myanmar while calling for greater respect for the UN Charter, protection of civilians, unhindered humanitarian access, nuclear non-proliferation and accountability.

He argued that the Council must be capable of responding effectively to these challenges and must possess sufficient legitimacy in the eyes of the wider UN membership.

“The test before us is whether power will be exercised with the law – or beyond it.  We must defend the Charter without double standards. Protect civilians without exception. Ensure humanitarian access without obstruction. Shield humanitarian personnel without fail”, he noted, adding that accountability must be demanded, “without fear or favour”.

UN Assembly President Backs Reform

The President of the General Assembly, Khalilur Rahman, also called for changes to the Council, arguing that its composition must become more representative, transparent and reflective of current geopolitical realities.

Rahman specifically highlighted Africa’s underrepresentation, saying the continent had remained underrepresented despite being the largest regional grouping by number of UN member states and a major focus of UN peacekeeping.

“When the Security Council works, the United Nations works”, Rahman said, while calling for progress through the General Assembly-led intergovernmental negotiations on Council reform.

He said ensuring fair representation for underrepresented regions, particularly Africa, should remain a priority.

Africa’s Longstanding Demand

Africa’s campaign for permanent representation is rooted in the argument that the current structure was established at a time when most African states did not exist as independent countries.

When the UN was founded in 1945, much of Africa remained under colonial rule. The continent subsequently underwent widespread decolonisation, producing dozens of independent states that now form the largest regional bloc in the 193-member organisation. Yet none has a permanent seat on the Security Council.

Guterres had already made a similar argument to African leaders earlier this year, telling the African Union summit that the world of 2026 was not the world of 1946 and describing the absence of permanent African seats as indefensible. He warned that global institutions had not kept pace with these changes.

The Secretary-General also identified four major tests that would determine the future of international cooperation: war and peace, inequality, climate change and artificial intelligence. He argued that each was fundamentally connected to the question of who possesses power, how it is exercised and what rules govern it.

“The United Nations exists because power requires rules – and humanity needs a place where power answers to principle”, he said.

Guterres rejected the idea that responding to the failures of the existing system requires a weaker United Nations. Instead, he called for an organisation capable of confronting the world as it exists while adapting its institutions to contemporary realities.

“The world does not need a weaker United Nations. It needs a UN strong enough to face the world as it is – and determined enough to build the world as it should be”, he said.

The Secretary-General, whose term ends on December 31, said he had roughly 100 days left in office and would continue to defend the principles of the UN beyond his tenure.

He concluded by calling for the rule of law to prevail over what he described as the “law of power”, stressing that the future of the international system would depend on whether states could govern power through cooperation, accountability and international law.

The 81st General Assembly general debate runs from September 22 to September 28 at UN Headquarters in New York, bringing together heads of state, government leaders and senior representatives from across the 193-member organisation.