Guterres Reaffirms Call From Africa for Global Institutional Reform
Addis Ababa – Sudanhorizon – Agencies
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres renewed the call for global institutional reform, highlighting the need for two permanent seats on the Security Council for Africa and providing stronger financial support to address the continent’s challenges.
In a speech delivered during the opening of the historic hall in the OAU building in Addis Ababa on Monday, which was renovated, the Secretary-General referred to the historical and symbolic importance of the building for African unity and progress. He said: “This hall is where the leaders of Africa came together to give life to the Organization of African Unity, and now the African Union,” acknowledging the great transformation that the continent has witnessed since its early days of independence to the present.
Guterres added: “I also see it as a call for everyone to cooperate in pursuing a better future for Africa and the world.”
Guterres highlighted Africa’s hope and promise but stressed the challenges the continent still faces, such as climate change, conflict, and poverty, exacerbated by historical challenges and inequalities in development opportunities, calling for reform of global institutions that remain outdated, highlighting, in particular, the lack of a permanent African seat on the UN Security Council. “Let us hope that this will be rectified soon,” he said in his statement, especially since there is now consensus among all member states that the installation of “two African permanent members of the Security Council” is essential for reform.
The UN Secretary-General stressed the importance of the recently adopted Charter of Action, which addresses the need for reform of the Security Council and the international financial architecture. “We can only move forward if we also renew and modernize global institutions, to make them more effective, fair, and inclusive.”
The Secretary-General also addressed the Global Digital Charter, which includes the first truly global agreement on the governance of artificial intelligence, “giving every country a seat at the table, while supporting partnerships to bridge the digital divide and build AI capacity in developing countries, especially in Africa.”
“We must now move forward together to implement these historic agreements without delay,” the UN Secretary-General concluded, affirming the UN’s commitment to working for peace, unity, and prosperity for Africa and the world.
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