Reforms in UN system at snails pace – Nandi-Ndaitwah
No substantive progress has been made to reform the United Nations Security Council despite numerous appeals by UN members who do not enjoy full representation on the council, was said this week in Windhoek, ahead of the African Union Committee of Ten Heads of State meeting slated for Friday.
In preparation of the consultative summit for the African Union Committee of Ten Heads of State (C10) meeting on the Reform of the United Nations Security Council being held this Friday, Hon. Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of International Relations and Cooperation at the ministerial meeting held on Thursday noted that the process of reform is still lagging behind.
At an event held in Windhoek, Nandi-Ndaitwah said Namibia took the decision to host this Summit out of the conviction that there was need to remain resolute in the demands for the reform of the UN Security Council.
During her opening statement of the ministerial meeting she noted that despite the call for the reform having gotten louder, it has however been disappointing to note that since 2005 no substantive progress of the reform have been entrenched.
“We hear calls that Africa should show more flexibility in its position, while no one else has demonstrated the same flexibility,” she said.
Added Nandi-Ndaitwah, “it should be factually accepted that without the support of the 54 African Member States of the UN, it would be difficult to achieve any reform”.
“African Unity and Solidarity for the Common African Position is of crucial importance,” she said.
Despite the poor outcome of the process, Nandi-Ndaitwah commended the efforts contributed by H.E Sam Kutesa, President of the 69th session of the UN General Assembly and Foreign Minister of Uganda.
“His commitment is ensuring that the 69th session produced the Framework document that form the basis for a negotiating text,” she said.
Notably, Nandi-Ndaitwah also commended the work of the promoters both in New York and Addis Ababa, who have ensured that the Common African Position has made traction as it continues to rattle the Halls of the United Nations.
In her closing remarks, she reiterated that correcting the historical injustice suffered by the African continent as being the only continent not represented in the Permanent category of the Council and at the same time under-represented in the Non-permanent category was imperative, long overdue and therefore should be addressed urgently.
Meanwhile, at the last meeting held in Lusaka, Zambia in 2015, the AU Committee of Ten Heads of State Summit (C-10) reaffirmed Africa’s common position for a permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council.
The C-10 is an initiative of the African Union to accelerate the United Nations’ (UN) reform, particularly in the Security Council. The committee which includes Namibia, comprises Heads of State from Sierra Leone, Algeria, Congo Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Kenya, Libya, Senegal, Uganda and Zambia. The C-10 deliberates on the reform and democratisation of the United Nations, particularly the Security Council, which has been the focus of global attention in recent years.
