France urges greater African representation on UN Security Council

PARIS/ISTANBUL

France’s UN envoy said Tuesday that Paris supports reforming the UN Security Council (UNSC) to increase representation of African nations.

“The upsurge in conflicts is becoming an entrenched trend, and with it the temptation to resort to unilateralism. The resolution we have just adopted unanimously reaffirms our commitment to multilateralism and to the peaceful settlement of disputes,” Jermone Bonnafont said at an open debate on promoting international peace and security through multilateralism and the peaceful settlement of disputes.

“Multilateralism is not just a word, it is a method. It means consultation, organization, and control of rivalries, rather than the rule of the fittest in the defense of national interests. The United Nations is the main institutional pillar of this approach,” he said at the UN Security Council event chaired by Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Mohammad Ishaq Dar.

France, he noted, supports reform efforts led by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres as part of the organization’s 80th anniversary, aimed at making “the Organization more efficient and adapt it to contemporary realities.”

Africa deserves a stronger voice

France believes African countries should have a greater presence among the permanent members as part of the reforms.

“Since 2015, France has also been promoting, jointly with Mexico, an initiative to regulate the veto in cases of mass atrocities, which has been joined by 107 States, so that the Council is not prevented from acting in such situations,” said Bonnafont.

Bonnafont, who criticized the Council’s inaction on key international crises, said the international community “does not accept that our Council remains deadlocked” on Israel's genocidal war on the Gaza Strip and the war in Ukraine.

He also called for the Council to act more decisively to help restore peace in Sudan.

“The international community must remain mobilized to ensure respect for international law,” he said. “France commends the contribution of the International Court of Justice to the peaceful settlement of disputes, both in contentious matters and in an advisory capacity.”

Bonnafont also warned that “upholding international law, beginning with international humanitarian law and international human rights law, which have been so dangerously flouted in recent times, is one of the cornerstones of conflict prevention and resolution.”