Monday, 13 Oct 2025
  • About us
  • Our policy
  • Blog
  • Contact
Subscribe
thepatriotnewsonline.com
  • Home
  • Politics

    Napo Reinforces NPP’s Global Conservative Ties at UK Party Conference

    By Agyemkum Tuah

    The Kennedy Adjepong’s Factor.

    By Thepatriotnewsgh

    Galamsey financiers are economic terrorists, we must face them boot-for-boot – Prof. Asare

    By Agyemkum Tuah

    Ntim Fordjour Claims Lack of Funds is Behind Speaker Bagbin’s Delay in Reconvening Parliament

    By Agyemkum Tuah

    Gov’t breached Constitution in US deportee agreement – NPP

    By Agyemkum Tuah

    Galamsey: Ghana must act fast to outlaw surface mining – UTAG Vice President warns

    By Agyemkum Tuah
  • Business
  • Opinion

    NPP Refers Petitions Against Deputy Communications Director Ernest Owusu Bempah to National Council

    By Agyemkum Tuah

    GoldBod Donates GHS5M and 5 Toyota Hilux Pickups to Boost Ghana’s Anti-Galamsey Fight

    By Agyemkum Tuah

    We need to hear from Bank of Ghana, Receiver on A-G’s claim that 60% of funds had been retrieved from Unibank – Bright Simons

    By Thepatriotnewsgh

    Why Decades of Economic Reforms Failed to Lift Sub-Saharan Africa From Poverty

    By Thepatriotnewsgh

    Ansa-Asare urges minority to join vetting of Chief Justice nominee

    By Agyemkum Tuah

    NPP to Stage Major Protest Against Alleged Police Harassment on September 23, 2025

    By Agyemkum Tuah
  • Health

    “Show mercy to staff nurse” — Health Minister appeals to Ghana Health Service

    By Agyemkum Tuah

    Ghana Health Service Queries Nurse Over Alleged Insults Directed at Health Minister

    By Agyemkum Tuah

    Mental health crisis deepens in Ghana amid stigma and neglect, psychiatrist warns

    By Agyemkum Tuah

    Indian Police Arrest Owner Of Cough Syrup Company Linked To Deaths Of 17 Children

    By Agyemkum Tuah

    WACCBIP Team at the University of Ghana Wins Prestigious Award in 2025 Vivli AMR Surveillance Data Challenge

    By Agyemkum Tuah

    The AFRIWOCC Dream: Realizing the Afrocentric mandate on Climate Change

    By Agyemkum Tuah
  • Pages
    • About us
    • Our policy
    • Contact US
  • Health
  • Sports
  • World
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Health
  • Sports
  • World
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
Font ResizerAa
thepatriotnewsonline.comthepatriotnewsonline.com
  • My Saves
  • My Interests
  • My Feed
  • History
  • Travel
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Health
  • Technology
  • World
Search
  • Home
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sports
  • Opinion
  • Health
  • Travel
  • World
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
© The Patriot News Network. All Rights Reserved.

Home » Empty chairs for a voice for permanent seats ignored: Why Africa must boycott 2026 UNGA

General newsInternational Relations & DiplomacyOpinion

Empty chairs for a voice for permanent seats ignored: Why Africa must boycott 2026 UNGA

Agyemkum Tuah
Last updated: September 28, 2025 6:31 am
Share
SHARE

ACCRA – For decades, it has been a familiar script at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA). African leaders take the podium to eloquently, and rightly, argue for a fundamental reform of the UN Security Council (UNSC).

They point to the glaring anachronism of a global governance structure frozen in 1945, which denies a continent of 1.5 billion people a permanent seat at the table where the world’s most critical peace and security decisions are made.

This week, the call was renewed. But we have heard it before, from the towering vision of Nelson Mandela to the persistent advocacy of former leaders like Thabo Mbeki (2005), Olusegun Obasanjo, Muhammadu Buhari (2016 and 2021), John Agyekum Kufuor (2003 and 2005), Paul Kagame (2018), Macky Sall (2022), Nana Akufo-Addo (2017, 2023 and 2024), Abdel Fattahbel-Sisi (2020),  and equally strong current voices across the continent like John Mahama and William Ruto (2024 and 2025) and many others.

The argument is unimpeachable: Africa’s challenges are central to the UNSC’s agenda, yet its solutions are peripheral to the Council’s deliberations.

The most definitive African position on this matter was crystallised 20 years ago in the Ezulwini Consensus of 2005. Adopted by the African Union (AU), this landmark agreement was not a rrequest5 but a principled demand.

It stated unequivocally that Africa must have “at least two permanent seats” on the UNSC,a with all the privileges thereof, including the veto power. It also demanded five non-permanent seats. The Ezulwini Consensus was Africa speaking with one voice, presenting a unified, non-negotiable framework for a more equitable world.

Twenty years on, what has been the outcome? A resounding silence. The issue has been “considered” in various UN-led dialogues and intergovernmental negotiations, which have become a graveyard for ambition.

Discussions are perpetually stalled by the self-interest of the existing P5 (the five permanent members), who speak of reform while fiercely protecting their privilege. The process is designed to achieve nothing, and it has succeeded spectacularly.

Even a glimmer of hope, like President Joe Biden’s 2023 UNGA address where he welcomed the idea of a permanent African seat, has led to precisely nothing. It was a welcome sentiment, but without a concrete, binding roadmap, it remains just that—a sentiment. Our hopes, once again, were materialised into empty air.

So, 20 years after Ezulwini, the question is not just “what do we want?” but “what is our strategy for being heard to the point of action?” Reforming the Security Council requires (1) a two-thirds majority vote (article 108 of the UN Charter), after ratification by two-thirds of all UN members, crucially, all five Permanent Members of the Security Council (US, UK, France, Russia, China) must also ratify. Europe with 9% of the world population has three seats, but Africa and India with 18% each have none.

It is time for a radical shift. The current path of annual, dignified appeals followed by total disregard is a cycle of diplomatic futility. It diminishes Africa’s standing and normalises our exclusion. Therefore, I propose a clear and consequential course of action:

The Chairperson of the AU Commission must table a motion at the upcoming February 2026 Assembly of Heads of State and Government in Addis Ababa. This motion should outline a simple ultimatum: if by the 80th UNGA in September 2025, there is no credible, time-bound process for Security Council reform incorporating the Ezulwini demands, then the African Union will call for a collective boycott of the UNGA in 2026.

Why a boycott?

1.  It’s a time-tested Legitimate Political Tool: A boycott is neither withdrawal nor an act of isolation; it is a statement of high principle. A powerful political statement of discontent. It screams, “This system is so fundamentally unjust that our participation in its main theatre legitimises its illegitimacy.”

2.  It Forces a Reckoning: The absence of 55 voices—over a quarter of UN membership—would create a palpable void, turning the Assembly hall into a theatre of ultimate hypocrisy. All apologies to the public servants who will miss an opportunity to shop on 5th Avenue. Empty seats speak louder than ignored speeches. It would force the world to confront the cost of inaction.

3.  It Demonstrates Ultimate Unity: A successfully coordinated boycott would be the ultimate strategic demonstration of the Ezulwini Consensus in action. It would prove that Africa can move beyond rhetoric and act together when the stakes demand it.

Why does Africa need a permanent seat?

The case is overwhelming. Africa is not just a subject of international security; it is a central actor. It is the site of most UN peacekeeping missions, the region most vulnerable to climate change—a key security threat—and home to the world’s youngest population, representing the future.

About 28% of all UN member states (more than a quarter of the entire UN) are African . A security architecture that excludes its permanent representation is not only unfair; it is ineffective, illegitimate, and blind to 21st-century realities. Our presence would bring indispensable context, lived experience, and legitimacy to the Council’s work.

The point of going to New York every year cannot simply be to be ignored. The time for polite requests is over. The Ezulwini Consensus was our homework, done meticulously 20 years ago. The world has failed its exam.

Let us use the 20th anniversary of this consensus not for lamentation, but for decisive action. Let us tell the world: Include us, or we will no longer pretend that this charade of equality is acceptable.

An empty chair in 2026 would speak louder than words have for the past 80 years. Let our empty chairs at UNGA 2026 echo this truth: “Until Africa too has a veto, this united nations remains incomplete.”

Let me end with the words of Kwame Nkrumah: “Divided we are weak; united, Africa could become one of the greatest forces for good in the world.”

Gabby Asare Otchere-Darko

The author, a Pan-African thought leader, is the Founder and Executive Chairman of Africa Prosperity Network (organisers of the annual Africa Prosperity Dialogues, Accra, and the Global Africa Forum, New York) , and Senior Partner of Africa Legal Associates (ALPi Ghana).

Disclaimer: The content published on this website is for informational purposes only. The views, opinions, and positions expressed by individual authors or contributors are theirs alone and do not necessarily reflect those of [patriotnewsonline.com]. While every effort is made to ensure accuracy, [patriotnewsonline.com] does not assume any responsibility or liability for any errors, omissions, or outcomes resulting from the use of this information. Readers are advised to verify facts independently and seek professional advice where necessary.

Share this:

  • Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) Facebook
  • Click to share on X (Opens in new window) X
TAGGED:African UnionGabby Asare Otchere-DarkoInternational DiplomacySecurity CouncilUNGA
Share This Article
Email Copy Link Print
Previous Article Okudzeto Dropped Me from Parliamentary Delegation to UNGA Because of my Criticism of Him – Bosome Freho MP reveals
Next Article Adutwum: My government won’t tolerate half-measures, poor ministers will step aside
Leave a Comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Your Trusted Source for Accurate and Timely Updates!

Our commitment to accuracy, impartiality, and delivering breaking news as it happens has earned us the trust of a vast audience. Stay ahead with real-time updates on the latest events, trends.
FacebookLike
XFollow
InstagramFollow
LinkedInFollow
MediumFollow
QuoraFollow
- Advertisement -
Ad image

Popular Posts

Interpol: 68 Ghanaians among 260 arrested across Africa for online scams

Interpol has arrested 260 people across 14 African countries in a coordinated crackdown on online…

By Agyemkum Tuah

Stop galamsey now before it destroys Ghana – Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe warns

ACCRA - A founding member of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), Dr. Nyaho Nyaho-Tamakloe, has…

By Agyemkum Tuah

It’s National Security Again! Jakpa orders The Fourth Estate’s journalists to abort interview

operatives from the National Security. Earlier in April, the Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA)…

By Thepatriotnewsgh

You Might Also Like

BusinessEconomyGeneral newsGovernance

Ghanaians ‘running on a treadmill’ as growth fails to deliver quality jobs — World Bank

By Thepatriotnewsgh
General newsGovernancePolitics

Minority writes to Mahama, demands audience over national issues

By Thepatriotnewsgh
NewsOpinionSportsWorld

Annual open water swim returns to Western Australia in February

By Thepatriotnewsgh
Opinion

Dear Prez. John Mahama!

By Thepatriotnewsgh
thepatriotnewsonline.com
Facebook Twitter Youtube Rss Medium

About US

ThePatriotnewsonline.com: Your instant connection to breaking stories and live updates. Stay informed with our real-time coverage across politics, tech, entertainment, and more. Your reliable source for 24/7 news.

Top Categories
  • World
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Tech
  • Health
  • Travel
Usefull Links
  • Contact Us
  • Advertise with US
  • Complaint
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Submit a Tip

© The Patriot News Network.

All Rights Reserved.

Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Username or Email Address
Password

Lost your password?