By Lee-Yandra Paulsen
International Relations and Cooperation Minister Ronald Lamola has renewed South Africa’s call for meaningful reform of global governance, urging the United Nations to grant Africa a permanent seat on the Security Council.
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York, Lamola said restoring trust in multilateralism requires making the Security Council more representative of today’s world. He noted that Africa is home to nearly one-fifth of the global population and more than a quarter of UN member states.
“If the future belongs to the young, then surely a continent that will be home to one in four of the world’s youth by 2030 deserves a bigger seat at the table.”
Lamola said a permanent African seat, with the same rights and privileges as those of existing permanent members, is “long overdue”.
The minister also reaffirmed South Africa’s position on the war in Gaza, stating that Israel’s continued violations of international and humanitarian law amount to genocide. South Africa instituted proceedings against Israel at the International Court of Justice in December 2023, alleging breaches of the Genocide Convention, while Israel rejects those allegations.
“Nowhere is the need to uphold our shared humanity more urgent than in Palestine.”
Lamola said South Africa remains committed to a just and lasting peace through a two-state solution, adding that the rights, dignity and humanity of Palestinians cannot be treated as conditional.
Photo: X/ @DIRCO_ZA
