Africa has renewed its long-standing demand for permanent representation on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), as ministers gathered on June 4 in Lusaka, Zambia, for the 13th Ministerial Meeting of the African Union’s Committee of Ten (C-10).
The high-level talks centred on the Common African Position (CAP), which advocates for at least two permanent and five non-permanent seats for Africa on the UNSC. In a message delivered on his behalf by Defence Minister Ambrose Lufuma, Zambian President Hakainde Hichilema stressed that Africa’s current exclusion weakens the continent’s influence in global peace and security decisions, particularly amid rising regional conflicts and shifting geopolitical tides.
Zambia’s Foreign Minister, Mulambo Haimbe, described the absence of a permanent African voice on the Security Council as a “major historical anomaly” that undermines the continent’s global standing. This sentiment was echoed by UN General Assembly President Philemon Yang, who urged Africa to refine and present its lobbying framework as a model for ongoing negotiations. He emphasised that securing permanent representation would help correct historical injustices rooted in colonialism and exploitation, a view supported by African Union Commission Chairperson Mahamoud Ali Youssouf and other regional leaders in attendance.
The Committee of Ten, which includes Sierra Leone, Senegal, Algeria and Uganda, was established to advance Africa’s reform agenda at the UN. At the Lusaka meeting, Sierra Leone’s Foreign Minister Alhaji Kabba reaffirmed the need for unity and persistence in advocating for equitable representation. As global tensions rise and multilateral institutions face growing scrutiny, African leaders argue that reforming the UNSC is not only just but necessary to reflect the current realities of international power dynamics and to foster lasting peace and security.