President William Ruto has called for two permanent and two non-permanent seats for Africa on the UN Security Council with full rights and privileges.
This is to amplify the voices of those living in poverty in the continent and ensure that they are fairly represented in multilateral institutions, President William Ruto has said.
Delivering a statement on behalf of the African Group of States at the ongoing Second World Summit for Social Development in Doha, Qatar, on Tuesday, November 4, 2025 President Ruto said: “True social development cannot thrive without historical justice and equal representation.”
With the African Union having declared 2025 the Year of Justice for Africans and People of African Descent through Reparations, he added: “This is a defining step towards justice and healing for Africa and its diaspora, calling for accountability for the crimes of slavery, colonisation, Apartheid, and exploitation that caused lasting human and environmental harm.”
Present were UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, and a host of other heads of State and governments.
Noting that the first ever such summit took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, 30 years ago, President Ruto pointed out that a lot has changed since then, but poverty, unemployment and social exclusion remain the defining challenges of the time.
“Across many sub-regions in Africa and Western Asia, hunger is rising, growth is slowing down, and vulnerability is deepening. Health and education systems are under strain, and energy deficits hold back opportunity,” he said.
To change the tide, he explained that Africa’s priorities are in transforming informal sectors, enhancing productive capacity, and expanding access to global markets.
He said these require stronger international cooperation in line with the Addis Ababa Action Agenda and the Right to Development.
The President called for comprehensive reform of the international financial architecture to make it fair, transparent, and responsive to the needs of developing nations and their people.
“We urge decisive action on debt distress and progress towards the United Nations Framework Convention on International Tax Cooperation. We also underscore our call for a UN Convention on Sovereign Debt,” he said.
At the same time, President Ruto delivered Kenya’s statement and outlined the steps the country is taking to address poverty, unemployment, inequality and social exclusion through the Bottom-Up Economic Transformation Agenda.
