Zambian leader says Africa must have permanent UN seats

LUSAKA - Zambian President Michael Sata has demanded Africa must have permanent seats on the United Nations (UN) Security Council, state-run news agency reported on Tuesday.

Sata, in remarks made during a high-level meeting on the rule of law in the UN General Assembly Hall in New York, urged Africans "to stand up and be counted", the Zambia News and Information Service (ZANIS) said.

According to the Zambian leader, this is in line with the Committee of 10, commonly known as C10, which is an African Union (AU) formation advocating for Africa to have two permanent seats on the UN Security Council with veto powers and extra two non- permanent seats to adhere to the geo-political realities of the modern times.

"Since the League of Nations up to today, Africa is more of a spectator than a participant. We have no permanent members in the Security Council and yet we represent 54 members in this House. We cannot talk of rule of law when we are not respecting each other. There, all Africans must stand up and be counted and we must become permanent members of the Security Council," Sata said.

The League of Nations was the forerunner of the UN.

Out of the 193 members of the UN, Africa has 54 states, making it the continent with the highest numbers of UN member states. Currently, the UN Security Council is composed of five permanent members, namely China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, and 10 non-permanent members of which only South Africa, Morocco and Togo are from Africa. The non-permanent seats are on a two-year regional rotational basis.