The leaders of the BRICS bloc have backed a call for reform of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to include Africa and Latin America in the global decision-making body.
While concluding their summit in New Delhi, India, the founding members of the bloc—Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa—agreed that the United Nations should be reformed to give Africa greater decision-making power, including a permanent seat and veto power, which are currently held by a few powerful nations.
Other members, including Ethiopia, represented by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed at the summit in India, have long been proponents of UN reform.
Speaking at the summit, Russian President Vladimir Putin was particularly vocal in calling for reforms, saying that reforming the Security Council would make the United Nations more effective and better reflect current global realities.
The African Union has long pushed for greater representation on the Security Council. Putin also called for reforms to international institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and World Trade Organization (WTO), saying they need to better reflect current political and economic realities, according to DW Africa.
Africa currently has no permanent seat on the Security Council, despite accounting for more than a quarter of UN member states.
BRICS is a platform for South-South cooperation among emerging economies and seeks to balance the influence of Western powers in global affairs.
