African states: Heusgen for reform of the UN Security Council

The head of the Munich Security Conference, Christoph Heusgen, has spoken out in favor of reforming the UN Security Council with a stronger role for Africa. African states are underrepresented in the most powerful body of the United Nations, he told the German Press Agency. “It’s high time for that to change.” Heusgen, on the other hand, considers the earlier demand for Germany to have a permanent seat on the Security Council to be outdated – even if the Federal Republic contributes to the United Nations system as the second largest donor.

Heusgen was a foreign and security policy advisor under Chancellor Angela Merkel (CDU). From 2017 to June 2021 he worked as the Permanent Representative of the Federal Republic of Germany to the United Nations in New York.

The UN General Assembly begins this Monday in the US metropolis of New York. There will also be a Security Council meeting on Ukraine. In addition to Chancellor Olaf Scholz (SPD) and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens), other German ministers are taking part in the deliberations.

Heusgen: China blocks Security Council reform

Heusgen called for the UN Security Council to be adapted to developments since its last reform in the 1960s. “That means: greater consideration of Latin America, Asia and, above all, Africa.” Membership of the African Union or the European Union is not possible under the UN Charter – only individual countries can be members.

Heusgen said it was astonishing how often, as a UN ambassador, he had experienced “how China, which always acts as an advocate for the so-called developing countries, is the country that is most blocking reform of the Security Council.” Beijing is actually putting African countries “under real pressure so that they don’t make any progress on this issue.” The 68-year-old also has a guess as to why this is so: “China ultimately wants to prevent its privileged position in the Security Council from being relatively weakened by additional permanent members.”

Against a permanent German seat on the Security Council

During its 50 years of UN membership, Germany has “always played a very constructive and very recognized role at the United Nations,” said Heusgen. On this basis and also because of its economic strength, Germany has demanded a permanent seat on the Security Council for years. “I consider this requirement to be outdated today.”

In the Security Council, the five permanent members USA, Russia, China, France and Great Britain have veto rights and can therefore block all actions. This became apparent again and again during the Ukraine war. In addition to the five veto powers, the committee has ten other members who rotate regularly.

“Due to global demographic developments, it is no longer appropriate for Europe to be represented in the Security Council with three countries that have the right to veto,” said Heusgen. This must be acknowledged “with a view to a fairer distribution of seats in the Security Council.” However, in Heusgen’s opinion, France, as the only EU member state with a permanent seat, should agree to “make its seat available as a European seat on issues on which the European Union represents a common position,” demanded Heusgen.

Germany should also continue to strive for a reform that comes close to a regulation like the one in the UN Human Rights Council, said Heusgen. There are so-called semi-permanent seats there. This means that countries can be re-elected immediately and stay in this body for longer than just two years. “This would give countries that make a particularly important contribution to the UN the opportunity to remain members for a longer period of time.”