Nigeria urges urgent reforms in UN security council

-Nigeria proposes more countries particularly African nations be included in UN security council as permanent members.

-It also wants the world body to be an example of true democracy.

Nigeria has voiced its dissatisfaction with the current composition of the UN Security Council, describing it as undemocratic and called for an urgent reform of the body.

Nigeria’s permanent representative to the UN, Tijjani Bande, expressed this views while speaking with the News Agency of Nigeria in New York.

Bande also decried the situation where Africa does not have a single permanent representative on the UN security council seat despite the continents massive contributions to global affairs.

“The Security Council is the UN’s most powerful principal organ with the primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security as well as accepting new members to the UN.

“It approves any changes to its UN Charter and is vested with powers for the establishment of peacekeeping operations and the establishment of international sanctions.

“The Council has the authorisation for military action through Security Council resolutions and it is the only UN body with the authority to issue binding resolutions to member states.

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“First of all, the fundamental question is that in the current global reality, where everybody is talking democracy, United Nations must show example.

“Clearly, it is an anachronistic notion to have a body composed of few countries that can veto the entirety of the global community through the Council.

“It is an anomaly and I think that has been recognised, but the politics of the reform not just of the UN in terms of the powers of the General Assembly and its functions.

“In terms of the powers and limits of the powers of the Security Council and in terms of representation, this is the politics that is going on,” he said.

“But this journey, at the official level, started 25 years ago. Nigeria is at the forefront of that effort and doesn’t read this as a selfish move.

“This (permanent seat) is the right of Nigeria and other serious nations to push and this is what other countries are also pushing.

“Be they small states which are pushing, be they Africa that has not any representation, this is not something that would go away.

“Nigeria and others are committed that we cannot have a democratic system which does not represent the majority of countries.

“Our continent is completely out of contention; whether we get two or three, the debate is we have to be on the Security Council,” Mr. Bande said.

“The debate is still ongoing whether it is even right to have veto power,” he said.

(NAN)