{
  "id": 13489830,
  "title": "Africa and the Elusive Pursuit of a Permanent Seat on the United Nations Security Council",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/10/africa-and-the-elusive-pursuit-of-a-permanent-seat-on-the-united",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-10-10T16:45:40.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Daily Trust",
    "slug": "daily-trust",
    "url": "https://dailytrust.com/africa-and-the-elusive-pursuit-of-a-permanent-seat-on-the-united-nations-security-council/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Since the Second World War in 1945, the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has largely mirrored the geopolitical landscape, with five permanent member states—China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States—holding veto power. Ten non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms. Despite comprising 54 member states and housing a significant portion of the global population, Africa lacks permanent representation on the Council. This absence is rooted in historical injustices and the need for equitable global representation. Following the 1997 Harare Declaration, the 2005 Ezulwini Consensus, and the Sirte Declaration, Africa has persistently advocated for reform, seeking at least two permanent seats and five non-permanent seats in an expanded UNSC. While Africa supports the eventual abolition of the veto, it believes that future African permanent members should enjoy the same privileges as existing ones. Achieving permanent representation is challenging due to the necessity of a two-thirds majority of UN members and ratification by all five current permanent members. Thus, Africa must pursue two concurrent goals: first, persistently campaigning for equitable representation; and second, recognizing the importance of economic, technological, scientific, and institutional strength to bolster its global influence. The United States, China, the United Kingdom, France, and Russia have historically combined diplomatic and military influence with significant achievements in industrialization, science, technology, manufacturing, and innovation. Africa, with its youthful population, abundant agricultural potential, and critical mineral reserves, must shift its economic model from exporting unprocessed minerals and agricultural products to developing processing, refining, manufacturing, and commercialization capacities within Africa. The continent should also transition from primary production agriculture to a technology-driven agro-industrial sector, including biotechnology, artificial intelligence, irrigation, precision agriculture, food processing, agricultural machinery, and global value chains. The advent of the Artificial Intelligence revolution offers Africa a historic opportunity to avoid being merely a consumer in previous technological revolutions. By investing in electricity, education, research institutions, digital infrastructure, computing capacity, engineering, and scientific development, Africa must prioritize strategic continental unity. Competition among African states over permanent seats must not undermine the Common African Position. Ultimately, securing UNSC seats should not be the ultimate measure of Africa's advancement. A veto cannot replace industrialization, scientific achievement, reliable infrastructure, strong institutions, or economic competitiveness. Africa should demand its rightful place at the UNSC based on equitable representation and historical justice while simultaneously building the economic, technological, scientific, and institutional strength necessary to make its global influence indispensable.",
  "summary": "The present structure of the United Nations Security Council largely reflects the geopolitical realities that emerged from the Second World War in 1945. Its five permanent members; China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, possess veto powers, while ten non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms. More than eight decades later, Africa, […]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "The Indian Express",
        "title": "India slams United Nations body for tweets on Delhi detentions",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/10/india-slams-united-nations-body-for-tweets-on-delhi-detentions",
        "published": "2026-10-10T18:36:29.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}