President John Dramani Mahama has called for sweeping reforms at the United Nations, urging the global body to undertake what he described as a “reset agenda” to reflect today’s realities and ensure fairness for Africa.
Addressing the 79th United Nations General Assembly on September 25, Mahama said the UN’s founding charter no longer adequately serves the needs of member states.
“The United Nations should also embark on a process of serious recalibration and establish its own reset agenda,” he stated.
He explained, “Since the organization’s founding the number of UN member nations has nearly quadrupled. And quite frankly it is not the same world that it was back then when the UN was formed.”
He stressed that the UN charter, written in 1945, is outdated in terms of representation, with the post-World War II powers still holding disproportionate control.
“The most powerful post-World War II nations are still being rewarded with an almost totalitarian guardianship over the rest of the world,” Mahama said. “And yet, the first sentence in chapter 2 article 1 of the UN charter declares that the organization is based on the principle of sovereign equality of all its members.”
The former president argued that if sovereign equality were truly upheld, Africa would already have a permanent seat on the Security Council.
He further challenged the continued dominance of the veto power which is restricted to only five nations.
They are China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom (UK), and the United States.
“There must be a mechanism in this house for the general assembly to challenge the veto. No single nation should be able to exercise an absolute veto to serve its own interests in a dispute,” he insisted.
Mr. Mahama recalled Nelson Mandela’s address to the UN three decades ago, where the late South African leader urged the institution to “reassess its role, redefine its profile and reshape its structures” to ensure equity.
“We African leaders are still making the same simple requests for a permanent seat on the security council with the power of a veto,” Mahama lamented. “So today, Madam President, I stand here in this exact spot and ask the world, if not now then when?”
He also broadened his call for reform beyond the Security Council, demanding a reset of global financial systems.
“We demand not only a reform of the Security Council but also a reset of the global financial architecture which is currently rigged against Africa. Africa must have a greater say in the world’s multilateral financial institutions,” he said.
