NAIROBI, Kenya- President William Ruto will take the United Nations General Assembly stage on Wednesday night with two demands at the centre of his address: permanent African representation on the Security Council and a global financial system that no longer penalises the continent.
President Ruto is scheduled to deliver Kenya’s main address during the afternoon session in New York, which falls on Wednesday night in Kenya.
The President is expected to renew Africa’s demand for at least two permanent seats on the UN Security Council, carrying the same rights and privileges enjoyed by the five existing permanent members, including veto powers.
Africa, which has 54 UN member states and a population of more than 1.5 billion people, currently has no permanent representative on the body responsible for maintaining international peace and security.
The Security Council has five permanent members- China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States- alongside 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms.
President Ruto has repeatedly described Africa’s exclusion as an injustice that weakens the legitimacy of the United Nations.
“Africa demands at the very least two permanent seats with full rights, including the right to veto, and two additional non-permanent seats,” he said during engagements on the sidelines of the assembly.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has also backed permanent African representation, describing the continent’s continued exclusion from the council as unjust and indefensible.
Financial Reforms
President Ruto is also expected to push for major changes to the international financial system, arguing that African countries are charged higher borrowing costs despite having lower default rates than commonly perceived.
His administration says the continent suffers from an “Africa risk premium” driven by subjective credit ratings and exaggerated perceptions of investment risk.
The President has previously called for reforms covering sovereign debt, multilateral development banks, credit-rating agencies and the allocation of affordable long-term financing to developing countries.
He has also supported the creation of a UN convention on sovereign debt to provide a predictable and fair framework for countries facing repayment difficulties.
President Ruto is expected to argue that the current system forces African countries to choose between financing development and servicing expensive debt.
The financing agenda is also likely to feature his “Africa financing Africa” proposal, which seeks to mobilise the continent’s pension funds, sovereign wealth funds, insurance assets and other domestic resources for infrastructure and development projects.
African leaders have been calling for changes to how global markets calculate risk, saying unfair assessments increase borrowing costs and discourage investment on the continent.
President Ruto is attending the 81st session of the General Assembly alongside heads of state and government from across the world.
The high-level debate is being held under the theme “Restoring Trust, Managing Transformation: A United Nations That Delivers for All.”
Beyond institutional and financial reforms, Kenya’s UN agenda includes climate financing, artificial intelligence, peace and security, critical minerals, trade and greater investment in Africa.
