African leaders have gathered at the United Nations General Assembly to push for reforms of the U.N. Security Council, calling for permanent seats for African countries. Many heads of state have criticized the current structure, which they say limits Africa’s ability to influence global security decisions. Issues such as the war in Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas conflict, and the U.S. war with Iran are examples of global matters where African nations feel their voices are not adequately heard. The U.N. Security Council, which makes key decisions on international peace and security, currently has 15 members. Five of these are permanent members — the United States, Russia, France, the United Kingdom, and China — each holding veto power. The other 10 members are elected by the U.N. General Assembly and serve two-year terms. Africa currently holds three of these nonpermanent seats, but leaders argue this is insufficient given the continent’s size and number of U.N. member states. African leaders have pointed out that the continent is home to over 1.3 billion people and has 54 U.N. member states. They argue that the current Security Council structure contradicts the U.N. charter’s principles of equal sovereignty among nations. Kenyan President William Ruto noted that while the U.N. charter proclaims all nations as sovereign and equal, the Security Council gives permanent power to just five countries, leaving the other 188, including all African nations, without a say. In 2024, the United States under former President Joe Biden expressed support for adding two new permanent seats for African countries. African leaders have also called for greater inclusion in global discussions on emerging issues like artificial intelligence, critical minerals, rare earths, and energy resources. Botswana’s President Duma Boko emphasized that many of these resources come from developing countries and that these nations must have a say in setting international standards and safeguards for new technologies. Most African leaders are following the African Union’s 2005 proposal, which calls for at least two permanent seats on the Security Council. Namibia’s President Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah stated that it is time to move forward with these demands, as negotiations on the issue have continued for over a decade without resolution.