Reforms in governance system urged

Guterres seeks representation for Africa at UN council to address challenges

The United Nations’ SecretaryGeneral Antonio Guterres has called for an immediate reform of the global governance system and warned that the current state is failing developing countries.

Speaking at the Third South Summit, organized under the framework of the Group of 77 and China, in Uganda’s capital Kampala on Sunday, Guterres criticized the UN Security Council for not having a permanent member from Africa.

“The Security Council is stuck in a time warp. How can we accept that it still lacks a single African permanent member?” he said. “It is a clear injustice, a flagrant injustice.”

The UN institutions were created at a time when most of the countries in Africa were not independent, but urgent reforms are needed so they fit the reality of today, he said.

“From the UN Security Council to the Bretton Woods system, global institutions reflect the world that built them 80 years ago, when many African countries were still colonized. They are no longer fit for purpose,” he said.

The Bretton Woods system is a global currency exchange regime that pegged the US dollar and other currencies to the value of gold from 1944 to 1973.

The UN chief said in recent public declarations, UN members, including the five permanent members of the Security Council, are generally positive to having at least one African country as a permanent member.

“So for the first time, I’m hopeful that at least a partial reform of the UN Security Council could be possible for this flagrant injustice to be corrected, and for Africa to have at least one permanent member in the Security Council,” he said.

This year marks the 60th anniversary of the G77, the world’s biggest organization of developing countries with more than 130 members.

While acknowledging that the G77 represents 80 percent of the world’s population, he also urged world leaders to reform other multilateral institutions such as international financial architecture based on current economic and political realities.

Outdated, unfair

“The global financial system is outdated, dysfunctional and unfair. Developing countries have a large and growing share of the global economy. But their representation in global financial institutions lags far behind,” he said.

The secretary-general also said that those who benefit most from the present global governance system are unlikely to lead its reform, and momentum for change must come from developing countries, adding that he is hopeful for changes despite challenges.

“Yet, amid all this gloom, there is hope. It is a chance to create the conditions for countries to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals, to find consensus on frameworks to address new challenges, and to build a better world for us all,” Guterres said.

Yoweri Museveni, president of Uganda, which took over the G77 chairmanship from Cuba during the summit, stressed the urgency of implementing reforms in the international financial architecture.

“We endorse the urgent reform of the international financial architecture to ensure it adequately responds to the financing needs of developing countries. In our view, international financial institutions and multilateral development banks must support the national priorities of developing countries without imposing any conditionalities that infringe on their sovereignty,” Museveni said.

The South Summit is the supreme decision-making body of G77. High-level representatives of nearly 100 countries and heads of UN agencies attended the meeting.