By KING’S OFFICE CORRESPONDENT | 2022-09-24

NEW YORK, USA - After nearly 17 years of calls by His Majesty the King and his African counterparts, the implementation of the Ezulwini Consensus by the United Nations may finally get serious attention.

The new President of the UN Casaba Korosi gave the first indication that it was time to act on this call. Several leaders followed suit, citing the Russian invasion of Ukraine as an indictment on the UN for failing to act sooner.

The Ezulwini Consensus is an African Union (AU) resolution calling for the reform of the United Nations (UN) Security Council to include permanent representation of Africa.
The Security Council is an organ of the UN that is responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security.

It has 15 Members, and each Member has one vote.
Under the Charter of the United Nations, all Member States are obligated to comply with its decisions.

According to the UN, the Security Council can impose sanctions or authorise the use of force to maintain or restore international peace and security.

The Security Council consists of 10 elected members, and five permanent members-China, the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and Russia.
The AU demands at least two permanent seats and five non-permanent seats be allocated to the African organisation.

In addition, the AU set forth that either all permanent members including the new permanent members must have the right to the veto; if not, then no permanent members may have the right to the veto.

Addressing the UN General Assembly, His Majesty the King reiterated this call, noting how with global stability at stake, Africans need to guard against opportunists who seek to take advantage of the fragile economies to advance their agendas.

History

“Ours is a history littered with problems of the past and on-going attempts to re-infiltrate our countries through covert and overt means. Eswatini is of the ardent belief that Africa must have permanent representation in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC); a call made in the Ezulwini Consensus in 2005.”

The king said the country’s position emanated from the fact that every democracy has its exceptionality and that societies are founded according to different cultural norms and values.

Adoption

“We will not tire of the consideration and belated adoption of this call by the un to bring in the proper perspective on the African polity,” he stressed.

The UN Assembly President Casaba Korosi announced his intention to advance negotiations for reforming the UN Security Council to more equitably represent 21st Century realities.

“This is a matter of credibility for our entire organisation and our multilateral order,” he said.
The President of Estonia Alar Karis described the Security Council as ‘paralysed’ and accused Russia of abusing its veto power.

“How can we accept an aggressor has veto power in the Security Council?” he wondered.
Addressing the UN, His Majesty expressed concern at the growing incidents of conflicts in various parts of the world resulting in the loss of life and contributing significantly to the rise in food prices globally.

“These conflicts are not unique to a certain area as they persist in Africa, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. We hope to see an end to these clashes through peaceful resolutions,” he urged.

He applauded the UN for its efforts to prevent these conflicts from escalating.

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