Zawaya

Democracy has to come to Africa first before the continent can aspire to a permanent seat

By: Abdelaziz Karraky

The first address of the Libyan leader Muammar Kadhafi to the United Nations General Assembly this year will remain a memorable event. Kadhafi is one of the leaders who protested in their own ways before the UN, like Khrushchev who pulled off his shoe and used it to pound the podium. Therefore, we can say that the Libyan leader came up with an innovative way of protest that could become his own trademark. However, his request for a permanent membership for Africa in the Security Council is consistent, to a certain extent, with the aspirations of many Africans, given the fact that the continent has suffered, and still suffers, from many tragedies and horrors, starting from turning Africans into slaves and dispersing them across the world, to colonialism, the plundering of the wealth and riches of African nations, civil wars and battles of liquidation, and fighting diseases, epidemics and famine.

All that makes Kadhafi’s request to join the group of permanent members of the UN Security Council a legitimate one. However, we should not forget that the current members of the Council joined it at its establishment, except for China; and that no other country in the world succeeded in getting a membership, despite the fact that many of them had sought it, and are still trying to get it, especially Germany and Japan. Also, the period of creating this international organization coincided with the colonialization of the overwhelming majority of African countries; that is why they couldn’t have their voices heard in the San Francisco Conference in 1945, nor participate in building post-World War II institutions.

However, the Security Council membership was not based on continental representation, and was rather granted to the victorious States of World War II who realized the seriousness of the ravages of war, thus pledging to maintain international peace and security. We will not elaborate on the misuse of the veto power held by permanent members in the present article, for it’s another issue that requires a lengthy analysis.

Let’s imagine that Africa is granted a permanent seat at the Security Council. Who will occupy it? Is it Libya, where Colonel Kadhafi has been dreaming of the United States of Africa, after failing to achieve his dream of Arab and Islamic unity? Many countries that are engaged in Kadhafi’s project are convinced of the material benefits derived from the alliance itself, more than actually adopting the Colonel’s ideas. Or is it South Africa which is militarily superior to all other African countries? The country announced its formal recognition of the Polisario without being aware of the reality of the conflict that is located in North Africa and which is now being reviewed by the Security Council. This South African initiative led many countries to be fearful of the country’s dominant orientation. And why not give the seat to Egypt that has an ancient civilization? Or to Morocco which had consistently provided support to Africans, in terms of helping liberation movements against colonialism, receiving Africans who wished to pursue their education in Morocco, or participating in conflict resolution? How will Africans choose the State that will represent them in the Security Council? Africa’s path towards getting a permanent membership in the Security Council is still difficult, but restoring democracy might be its starting point.