 Foreign ministers from the African Union discussed reforms at the United Nations and resolved to demand five seats be reserved for African countries on the Security Council, two of them with veto power. | If we give then 10 seats and two vetoes will they move the whole thing to Tanzania? |
"The time for reform is now or never," AU Commission Chairman Alfa Oumar Konare said after the closed-door meeting Monday. Konare said in order for African countries to have a real input into what happens at the United Nations, African countries need a stronger voice on the Security Council. Currently, three Security Council seats are set aside for African countries on a rotating basis, but no African country has veto power. "Today is a time for Africa, today indisputably is the hour of Africa," Konare said in Addis Ababa, the headquarters for the 53-member AU. "This position would reflect the African vision of the future of the continent and the place of Africa in the world." Under the AU proposal, the continent wide body would decide which countries would divide the boodle hold the permanent seats on the council, said AU spokesman Desmond Orjiako. |