Africans want 2 UN seats
2004-09-23 20:24
New York - Senegalese President Abdoulaye Wade on Thursday said Africa should have two permanent seats on a revamped UN Security Council, whose veto-wielding membership is currently limited to five nations.
Reform of the 15-nation Security Council has the firm support of UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, who set up a high-level panel that is to make proposals for change in December.
"The world, now more than ever, needs a strong United Nations with reinforced legitimacy," Wade said in a speech to the UN General Assembly.
He welcomed Annan's decision to form a panel studying reform in the world body.
African nations want the continent to be given "at least two permanent seats and two additional non-permanent seats," Wade said.
African countries would decide which nations would be awarded the new seats, he said.
On Tuesday, Brazil, Germany, India and Japan launched a united bid for permanent UN Security Council seats, arguing that expanded membership was crucial to addressing new global threats.
The four nations also voiced support for the addition of an African permanent seat and the expansion of the non-permanent membership.
The council has had the same five permanent members with veto power - Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States - since the United Nations was established in the wake of World War II.
Ten other nations are elected as non-permanent members for two-year terms each.