Russia reaffirms support for Africa's UN Security Council reform agenda

Russia has reaffirmed its support for the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration, the African Union's common position on reforming the United Nations Security Council.

The commitment was outlined in a joint statement issued after high-level consultations in Addis Ababa between Mahamoud Ali Youssouf and Sergey Lavrov, CE Report quotes Ukrinform.

According to the statement, the two sides exchanged views on strengthening the multilateral system and reforming global governance mechanisms.

Russia reiterated its position that the "historic injustice" regarding Africa's representation on the UN Security Council should be addressed and reaffirmed its backing for the Ezulwini Consensus and the Sirte Declaration, which call for fairer African representation within the council.

Adopted in 2005, the Ezulwini Consensus and the accompanying Sirte Declaration set out Africa's common reform proposal, seeking at least two permanent seats and five non-permanent seats for African countries on the UN Security Council.

Peace and security

The statement also noted that the two sides discussed developments in the Sahel, the Great Lakes region, the Horn of Africa, Sudan, South Sudan, and Libya.

They stressed the importance of increasing international support for African-led peace initiatives, ensuring sustainable financing for African Union-led peace support operations, and effectively implementing UN Security Council Resolution 2719.

Both sides also reaffirmed their commitment to international law and the UN Charter, emphasizing that international disputes should be resolved through dialogue and diplomacy.

Economic and health cooperation

The statement said the parties agreed to strengthen cooperation in food security, agriculture, energy, infrastructure, trade, and investment.

They also agreed to enhance support for the work of the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in responding to Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Uganda.

Finally, the African Union and Russia agreed to prepare a new cooperation action plan for the 2027–2029 period ahead of the third Russia-Africa Summit, scheduled to take place in Moscow on October 28–29. They also agreed to hold high-level political consultations at least once a year.

Photo: Chat GPT