Charity Maodza Correspondent
As world leaders meet in New York for the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), this is the right time for Africa to rightfully and vociferously demand its permanent seat at the UN Security Council.

In its current state, the power matrix at the UN Security Council is heavily tilted in favour of five permanent members who wield veto power which they indiscriminately use to decide the fate of the rest of the world.

The five permanent members are; China, France, Russia, United Kingdom and the US. Of the five, none is from Africa, leaving the continent without veto power that is strategically required to protect its interests and aspirations.

The absence of a veto-holding African representative in the United Nations Security Council makes the continent susceptible to the calculative whims of hegemony-seeking council members. Africa is presently a global lame duck, with nothing to shield itself from deadly scheming by world powers as they greedily seek to widen their sphere of influence in the world.

Africa is at the mercy of ravenous political vultures. The continent appears to have not moved an inch from its 1881 predicament that saw European powers scramble for its resources and partition it among themselves.

A glaring reminder of Africa’s vulnerability came in 2011 when the continent was left to count its losses for lacking veto power, when the Security Council passed Resolution 1973, which authorised the bombing and desecration of Libya’s territorial integrity by NATO powers.

With no power to halt the obliteration of Libya, Africa helplessly watched as one of its once vibrant nations was reduced to rubble and left to descend into sectorial chaos, which still grips the country today.

Africa’s diplomatic woes at the UN remain unresolved despite the continent accounting for a third of the global body’s member-states. Aware of such a glaring discrepancy, President Mugabe has for some time been at the forefront of lobbying for the reformation of the UN. During his address at the UNGA in 2012, the President reminded the world that Africa would not accept anything short of a permanent seat on the Security Council.

“We shall not be bought off with empty promises, nor shall we accept some cosmetic tinkering of the Security Council disguised as reform. It is indeed a travesty of justice that the African continent, which accounts for almost the third of the membership represented in this august assembly has no permanent representation in the Security Council,” he said.

In 2016, President Mugabe further bemoaned the lack of democracy at the UN, saying, “Others are real members of it, we are artificial members of it, and we can’t continue to be artificial members of it.

“If the United Nations is to survive, we must be equal members of it. Equal members who can say when we go to the body that we can now speak truly as members with a voice that is understood, respected and honoured.”

With such a deep conviction, President Mugabe remains the leading light in calling for reforms at the UN. He carries the hope for millions of Africans who aspire to control their destiny in the world.

As someone who fearlessly advances the continent’s aspirations, President Mugabe is expectedly treated as a global icon at the UN. It’s no wonder that every year some global citizens organise marches on the sidelines of UNGA to show support for the African icon. The solidarity marches are often oversubscribed and easily drown other paltry anti-Mugabe sideshows staged by donor-seeking opposition activists such as Savanna Madamombe.

For President Mugabe, Africa’s independence is never complete until the continent realises its total political, economic and diplomatic sovereignty. This entails self-determination for the continent that is guaranteed by a veto-wielding seat on the Security Council.

Once again, Africa this year looks forward to another stinging UNGA delivery from President Mugabe, where he would unequivocally demand Africa’s inalienable right for a permanent seat on the Security Council.

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