Ruto calls for change in UN Security Council, terms it dysfunctional, undemocratic and non-inclusive

President William Ruto is pushing for an overhaul of the structure of the United Nations Security Council, which he chides for failing to represent all people.

During his address at the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Ruto said the constitution of the Security Council has weakened efforts to maintain international peace and security.

 “The Council is dysfunctional, undemocratic, non-inclusive, unaccountable, autocratic, and opaque,” said Ruto.

 The Head of State further argued that the lack of representation by African countries has left a large population disadvantaged.

 “An institution that excludes 54 African countries, representing 1.4 billion people, while allowing one nation to veto decisions of the remaining 193 member states, is unacceptable. We must urgently seek to make the Security Council truly representative, inclusive, transparent, effective, and accountable,”  he stated.

 Ruto said that reforms are needed not only in the UN Security Council but also in the African Union.

 “… we are also in the process of comprehensively reforming the AU to become a fit-for-purpose institution that can effectively represent African nations globally and deliver prosperity,” he said.

 Currently, the UN Security Council comprises of 15 members. China, France, Russian Federation, the United Kingdom and the United States are permanent members of the council, while ten other non-permanent members are elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly.

 The current non-permanent members include Japan, Malta, Ecuador, Mozambique, Switzerland - whose terms expire in 2024 and Algeria, Guyana, Republic of Korea, Sierra Leone, Slovenia – whose terms expire in 2025. Slovenia holds the Security Council’s presidency up to September 2024.

RUTO’S CALL FOR REFORMS IN MULTILATERAL BODIES

 On September 22, Ruto also addressed delegates in an interactive dialogue at the Summit of the Future, where he called for the reconstruction of multilateral bodies.

 According to Ruto, the current structures in multilateral institutions are a risk to developing countries and could hinder them from achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by 2030. 

 “We must urgently close financing gaps, bridge international divides and restore trust in multilateralism,” Ruto told delegates.

“We also must recognise that the prevailing multilateral institutional architecture is dysfunctional, or at least highly ineffective and cannot be relied upon to provide solutions for the world that we all urgently need,” he added.

The president cited challenges such as limited fiscal ability, rise in debt, unfair credit framework and uneven interest regime as stumbling blocks in the realisation of SDGs by developing nations.