An assessment of the outcomes of divisions among African states towards UN Security Council reform

Abstract

The attempt to reform the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) took place in 2005, this was after the UNSC was last reformed in 1963. The reform did not materialise in that year owing to a number of reasons; the privilege enjoyed by the Permanent five members of the Security Council to invoke veto, the disagreement on the quorum to be met and most importantly, the disunity among the countries pushing for UN Security Council reform. Africa was the only region that drafted and adopted a "Common Position" on the modality of the reform titled "Ezulwini Consensus." This was as a result of the summit of ministers of foreign affairs of the African states, held in Ezulwini, Swaziland under the auspices of the African Union. Despite the common position, the African states were divided in the summit. This thesis examined the causes of this disunity among African states with the aim to reconfigure and reinvigorate the debate. The study employed Regime and Realist theories, as the theoretical framework. The methodology espoused Qualitative research approach, with the sample composed by representatives of African states which are regarded as regional hegemons and few scholars in the discipline. It was discovered that foreign direct investment, foreign aid and colonial legacies are the factors featured in the causes of the disunity among the African states towards the UN Security Council reform. Therefore, the thesis recommends that the debate should continue relentlessly; the African Union should develop a mechanism to hold states serving in the Security Council as non-permanent members accountable; and the Ezulwini Consensus should be reviewed in order to be pragmatic and inclusive. South Africa and Nigeria should use their membership in the global organizations composed mainly of the countries of the South, namely BRIGS (Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa) and Organisation of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) respectively to mobilise external support for the reform of the Security Council .