“The future is African” – Mahama declares at UN General Assembly

President John Dramani Mahama has renewed Africa’s call for permanent representation on the United Nations Security Council, insisting the current structure does not reflect today’s global realities.

Addressing the General Assembly on Thursday, September 25, he said the UN’s founding charter was “outdated when it comes to representation.”

“The most powerful post-World War II nations are still being rewarded with an almost totalitarian guardianship over the rest of the world,” he observed.

“If this were truly the case, a continent as large as Africa with its numerous UN Member States would have at least one permanent seat on the Security Council.”

Mr Mahama further argued that veto power should not be absolute and restricted to only five nations.

“There must be a mechanism for the General Assembly to challenge a veto. No single nation should be able to exercise an absolute veto to serve its own interests in a conflict,” he told the assembly.

Citing Nelson Mandela’s address to the UN in 1995, he noted that Africa’s demand for reform had remained unchanged for three decades.

“So, today, Madam President, I stand here in this exact spot, asking: if not now, then when?” he said.

The President also called for a “reset of the global financial architecture,” which he said was rigged against Africa, and demanded that the continent be given greater say in multilateral financial institutions.