U.S. backs permanent U.N. Security Council seats for Africa and small island nations

The United States announced its support for adding two permanent seats for African nations and a first-ever non-permanent seat for a small island developing nation on the U.N. Security Council, marking a significant move toward reforming the powerful body, the Associated Press said on Friday.

U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Linda Thomas-Greenfield, shared this in a speech to the Council on Foreign Relations, aligning with President Biden’s call two years ago for Security Council expansion.

Currently, Africa has three non-permanent seats, but Thomas-Greenfield argued this doesn’t fully reflect Africa’s contributions. “In addition to non-permanent membership, the U.S. supports two permanent seats for Africa,” she stated, emphasizing that this is both a demand from African countries and a fair move.

However, the U.S. opposes granting veto power to the new African permanent members, with Thomas-Greenfield citing concerns over the veto’s role in making the council “dysfunctional.”

The U.S. also reaffirmed support for permanent seats for Latin America, the Caribbean, Germany, Japan, and India. Furthermore, Washington is backing an additional rotating seat for small island developing states, recognizing their insights, particularly on climate change and global security.

The Security Council has remained unchanged since 1945, with five permanent members— the U.S., Russia, China, Britain, and France—holding veto power, while 10 non-permanent members serve rotating two-year terms. Despite widespread agreement on the need for reform, disagreements on how to expand membership have stalled changes since the late 20th century.