* This can make stronger representation of the interests of developing countries in the Security Council
* By giving two permanent seats, the UN will strengthen the voice of developing countries on the issues that matter to Africans
By Arkangel Tembo, MANA in New York, USA
President Lazarus Chakwera has asked United Nations (UN) to embrace democracy in the Security Council by giving Africa two permanent seats with veto power, saying this can make stronger representation of the interests of developing countries.
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President Chakwera said this yesterday during the high-level debate of the 79th United Nations General Assembly taking place in New York, USA.
The President said by giving two permanent seats, the UN is strengthening the voice of developing countries on the issues that matter to Africans: “Member state of this UN relates to other nations in the world on three dimensions namely cooperation, competition, and conflict.
“How we manage our relationships on each of these dimensions will ultimately determine the kind of world we will create for the children of tomorrow.
“So when we sit in this chamber to deliberate on the cooperation, or competition, or conflict between member states, we are designing and deciding our future.
“I am, therefore, glad that the theme of our debate this year touches on all three dimensions because the bottom line is that in all three — we can and must do better.
“This year’s theme calls on us to act together to advance peace, sustainable development, and dignity. This is a call to stronger multilateral cooperation.
“But if we are serious about cooperation, then we must act with urgency in fixing and reforming the United Nations and other multilateral institutions — and one fix that we, from Africa demand, is for the United Nations to embrace democracy in the Security Council by giving Africa two permanent seats with veto power.”
Chakwera added that in the four years that he has been Malawi President, he has been declaring a state of natural disaster every year because of climate change impacts that Malawi cannot solve without multilateral cooperation.
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“For one of those years, I was chair of two development communities, namely the Southern Africa Development Community and the least developed countries, and I learnt first hand that no nation can survive a global crisis or develop in the face of shocks without strong multilateral cooperation to sustain it.
“Even the great strides of development we have made over the past four years, have been facilitated by strong international cooperation.
“Whether it be the four road corridors and hundreds of secondary schools we are constructing through our cooperation with the United States; or the M1 Road we are rehabilitating and expanding through our cooperation with the European Union; or the railway system we have revived for the first time in 40 years through our cooperation with China, among other projects.”
President Chakwera further told the gathering that developing countries efforts’ to move forward in fifth gear are being significantly slowed down by a global system of multilateral agencies and financial institutions that are too slow, too inefficient, too monolithic, and too undemocratic for the kind of speedy and tailor made interventions needed.
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He said the refusal to practice the democracy of equal representation in the UN, calls for member states to practice democracy in their jurisdictions are beginning to fall on deaf ears adding as a result of developing countries’ refusal to honour climate financing pledges or link them to debt relief, the debt-to-GDP ratios in developing countries like Malawi are growing at an alarming rate, posing a significant threat to global financial stability.
“If this is not fixed, those who keep us in a state of perpetual debt when they have the resources to cancel those debts should make no mistake: the spreading debt crisis in the developing world is cancer that will make our economies unsafe. So the time to fix this is now,” he said.
Meanwhile, the President also had a meeting with United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), which reaffirmed its commitment to support Malawi in developing clean energy solutions as a game-changer for sustainable development.
Chakwera met with UNDP administrator, Achim Steiner, who said: “It was an honour for me on behalf of UNDP to meet the President of Malawi.
“l was pleased to hear the President commend UNDP for work we do in support of the Malawi government,” he said, adding that UNDP is helping in driving digital transformation, empowering women in government and supporting inclusive elections.
Steiner also highlighted the successful registration of over 9.2 million citizens in Malawi: “The electronic identity card programme is paving the way for financial inclusion and a digital economy that empowers women, youth, and vulnerable groups.
“Together we are building a more inclusive and sustainable future,” he said, while pledging UNDP support to help Malawi adopt and benefit from various innovative development solutions such as the Growth Accelerator initiatives.
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