Africa’s Push for Permanent UN Security Council Seats Remains Unresolved

African leaders and other advocates have renewed demands for permanent representation on the United Nations Security Council, but long-running negotiations remain unresolved over the Council’s expansion, the countries that would represent Africa and whether new permanent members would receive veto powers.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres used his final address to the General Assembly to again call for a Security Council that is more representative and better aligned with today’s geopolitical realities.

Nigeria’s Vice President Kashim Shettima, delivering President Bola Tinubu’s national statement at the 81st General Assembly, called for at least two permanent African seats with veto powers for as long as the veto remains part of the Council’s system. He also backed five non-permanent seats for Africa.

Ghanaian President John Mahama made a similar appeal, describing reform as essential to the United Nations’ legitimacy, credibility and survival.

A reform process without agreement

The General Assembly began intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform in 2008. The talks have continued through successive sessions without agreement on the central issues, including the Council’s size, membership categories, regional representation and the veto.

The Security Council has 15 members: China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States hold permanent seats, while 10 other members are elected by the General Assembly for two-year terms. The five permanent members have retained their positions since 1945, and any one of them can block a substantive Council resolution.

No African country currently holds a permanent seat. In 2025, the Council adopted 44 resolutions, including 24 under Chapter VII of the UN Charter. Eighteen of those Chapter VII resolutions concerned Africa, according to the information reviewed for this report.

Professor Ibrahim Gambari said the continent’s absence was difficult to justify given its size and the volume of Security Council business involving Africa.

“In the case of Africa, we have a whole continent that has the largest single bloc, yet has no permanent seat on the Security Council,” Gambari said.

He also argued that resistance from the current permanent members was a major obstacle. “The status quo is not really interested in change,” he said, adding that the five permanent members had privileges they did not want to relinquish.

The African Union position

The African Union’s common position, set out in the Ezulwini Consensus, calls for at least two permanent African seats and five non-permanent seats on an expanded Council. It also says any permanent African members should have the same rights and privileges as existing permanent members, including veto power for as long as the veto remains in place.

However, the African Union has not selected specific countries to occupy the proposed permanent seats. The organisation would determine which countries represent Africa if the seats are created.

Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa have pursued permanent representation, while other African states have also expressed interest. The country-selection question therefore remains separate from the wider dispute over whether the Council should expand and what rights new permanent members would receive.

Dr Fola Aina said a permanent Nigerian seat would raise Nigeria’s diplomatic influence and give Africa a continuous voice in international security decisions. He described the timing of Nigeria’s campaign as strategic during a period of global strategic competition.

Favour Aniezi said the issue went beyond representation, arguing that Africa’s absence from the permanent category affects whose voice shapes decisions concerning the continent.

“We should not simply be represented at the table, Africa should have a voice with the weight to influence what happens at it,” Aniezi said.

Charter amendment presents another hurdle

Changing the Council’s permanent membership would require an amendment to the UN Charter under Article 108. Such an amendment would need approval by two-thirds of the General Assembly and ratification by two-thirds of UN members, including all five existing permanent members.

That requirement leaves the outcome dependent not only on support from the wider UN membership but also on the position of China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States.

The number of new permanent members, the African countries that could take the seats, the extension of veto rights and the willingness of the existing permanent members to accept the changes all remain unresolved. No date has been identified for a final agreement.