By Francis H. Murray
President Julius Maada Bio has in a virtual address to the 34th Ordinary Session of the AU Assembly called on other Africans heads of States and governments on the need to be united in order to effect the Continent’s position on the composition of the UN Security Council.
During the conference over the weekend, Bio who chairs the Committee of ten Heads of State and Government (C10) called on the leadership of Africa to remain unified in respect of the current reformation process of the UN.
In a press statement issued from State House, the President urged his counterparts to continue to speak with one voice and in unity of purpose, in ensuring that the demands of the “Common African Position” as articulated in the Ezulwini Consensus and Sirte Declaration are achieved.
Thanking C-10 members for their diverse and continued support to the work of the Committee in fulfilling their mandate “to canvass, promote, and defend the Common African Position on UN Security Council reform,” Bio also gave an update on the 21st report adopted during the 33rd Assembly in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia in February 2020.
“This past year has been challenging due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on lives and livelihoods. This has also affected the work of the Committee and the Intergovernmental Negotiations process in New York,” he noted, adding that that had also unfavorably affected the implementation of recommendations of the twenty-first report and its decision on the reform of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) last year.
Bio further stated that the intergovernmental negotiations continued to be challenged by the very complicated nature of the various positions and proposals of the UN Member States, which he said were contrary in substance with essential degrees. He also cited the issue of continual divergence on procedural matters related to the reform process.
“In such a complicated process, the road ahead may be long, rocky and hard, but we should persevere and stay focused on building on the gains made in canvassing, promoting, advancing and defending the Common African Position on United Nations Security Council Reform. Only that will eventually lead to achieving decisive progress in the not-too-distant future,” he said.
He ended by acknowledging and commending the addition of the issue of the reform of the UN Security Council in statements made by a number of African leaders during the 75th UNGA Annual debate of Heads of State and Government.
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