EDITORIAL COMMENT: UN needs to democratise and reform

THE United Nations — as presently constituted — is beholden to the whims and caprices of its five permanent members of the Security Council who wield enormous powers to the detriment of other member states. The United States, Britain, France, China and Russia literally run the world body largely due to their control of one of the six principal organs of the UN charged with the maintenance of international peace and security.

The Security Council is also responsible for accepting new members to the UN and approving any changes to its Charter. Its powers include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of international sanctions, and the authorisation of military action through Security Council Resolutions.

It is the only UN body with the authority to issue binding resolutions to member states. However, the Security Council’s membership and working methods reflect a bygone era. Though geopolitics have changed drastically, the Council has changed relatively little since 1945 when wartime victors crafted a Charter in their interest and awarded “permanent” veto-wielding Council seats for themselves.

Since 1993, the UN General Assembly has hotly debated Council reform but has not been able to reach agreement. A handful of states aspire to “permanent” status for themselves, while many other countries reject such claims.

African countries constitute a large and important constituency of the UN but this is not reflected within the body’s structures as the continent does not have a permanent seat on the powerful Security Council.

African member states want two permanent seats for themselves on the basis of historical injustices and the fact that a large part of the Council’s agenda is concentrated on the continent.

Those two seats would be permanent African seats with veto powers that rotate between African countries chosen by the African group. So far, the continent has failed in its push for these seats because the permanent members — particularly France, Britain and the US — are reluctant to give in to these demands as they seek to protect their exclusive club.

History shows that these powers have used their membership of the Security Council to advance their neo-colonial agenda, entrench their stranglehold on the world and bully small, weaker states.

Zimbabwe has been a victim of the abuse of the UN system by Britain which sought the imposition of sanctions on the country but thanks to the veto powers of Russia and China — it’s scheming and machinations failed dismally.

Unjust wars have been waged in Iraq and Afghanistan without UN resolutions while the Palestinian people continue to suffer at the hands of Israel simply because the US and other Western powers are reluctant to act against their ally.

President Robert Mugabe has been at the forefront of calling for UN reforms and reiterated the position at the just-ended African Union summit in Ethiopia. The President, who handed over the chair of the continental body to Chad President Idriss Déby Itno, said African countries will not hesitate to walk away from the United Nations if Westerners continue to block efforts to reform and democratise the organisation.

Cde Mugabe warned that the day was coming when the continent would say enough was enough. With UN secretary-general Ban Ki-Moon part of his audience, President Mugabe passionately spelt out the travesty of denying African countries equality in the comity of nations.

“We’re supposed to be free and independent Mr Ban Ki Moon; supposed to be free — the 54 countries (of Africa). We come to the United Nations for the ceremonial (General Assembly); every year, September, we are there.

“We pay lots of money, go there and attend the General Assembly and make speeches, go back home: year in year out.

“But the bosses in the Security Council say you shall never have the powers that we have as permanent members . . . Reform the Security Council,” he said.

We agree totally with the President that the UN needs to reform and accord Africa and other marginalised continents the respect they deserve.

We are aware that any reform of the Security Council would require the agreement of at least two-thirds of UN member states and that of all the permanent members of the UNSC enjoying the veto right. Thus there would be a need for consensus from all members for this to happen.

If the UN is to survive, all members must be equal and the Western superpowers need to adjust their mindsets to this reality. Africa and the rest of the developing world need to fight harder for permanent seats on the Security Council and reforms of the UN system. Otherwise, it would be futile for them to continue being members of an organisation that does not recognise their worth and contribution to it.

The era of a handful of countries dominating the Security Council should come to an end.

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