Your Excellency, Mr. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of Equatorial Guinea and the gracious host of this Summit;

Your Excellency, Mr. Julius Maada Bio, President of the Republic of Serra Leone and Coordinator of the AU Committee of 10 on the UN Security Council Reform;

Your Excellency H.E Denis Sassou Nguesso, President of the Republic of Congo

Your Excellencies, Heads of State and Government Members of the AU Committee of 10 on the UN Security Council Reform;

Your Excellency Parfait Onanga, Special Representative of the UN Secretary General to the African Union,

Esteemed First Lady,

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen;

Allow me, at the outset, to express our sincere appreciation and thanks to H.E. Mr. Teodoro Obiang Nguema Mbasogo, President of Republic of Equatorial Guinea, for hosting this important Summit of the AU Committee of Ten on the UN Security Council Reforms.

We equally thank the Coordinator of AU C-10, H.E. Mr. Julius Maada Bio, President of the Republic of Serra Leone for taking the lead and assuming responsibility of this important mechanism.

I wish to recall that the African Union Committee of Ten Heads of State and Government on the United Nations Security Council Reforms (C-10) held its Fourth Consultative Summit on 17 May 2017 here in the Republic of Equatorial Guinea.

The objectives of that Consultative Summit were, in short, to strengthen our common engagement, continual commitment and build a robust coalition to meet the aspirations of the Continent in this field.

During the said Summit, our Heads of State and Governments, in their wisdom, reviewed twelve years of activities of the C-10 on the UN Security Council Reform. They noted the continued support for the Common African Position by many UN Member States and re-emphasized the need for African Countries to stay united on the reform of the Security Council and for Africa to speak with one voice during this process.

Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Despite all these tremendous and tireless efforts, the African Union common position did not see significant progress.

We have to acknowledge that today we need to act beyond the classical stand to move our project forward.

The African Union (AU) has been a fundamental actor in the enforcement of peace and security on the continent. However, the challenges posed by Africa’s limited representation in the UNSC restrict the ability of the AU to deliver effective and concrete conflict resolution.

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

The quest for the UN Security Council Reform is a legitimate demand as we make efforts to support conflict resolution in Africa. It is impossible to disassociate it from UN peace operations, largely concentrated on the Continent and implemented by the UN Security Council.

On this matter our contribution should be focused on the need to deeply reform the doctrine governing these missions which have become obsolete and inefficient. That is why they are facing today a huge movement of rejection.

The current debate on the UN Mali mission and DRC in one hand and on Somalia on another, shows that this aspect of reform is crucial and very urgent.

Allowing the AU peace support missions to be funded by accessed United Nations contributions is the only rational option if we want to maintain the concept of peace building/keeping missions in Africa.alive and credible

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

Africa has surmounted numerous challenges in the past from which the continent can gain lessons as it gears up to build the Africa we want and the Africa we deserve. We have overcome civil wars; we silenced colonial guns and Apartheid through decolonization; we survived the brutal ideological divide in the form of the Cold War, which in Africa became a hot war. By all indications, Africa has made progress. In fact, even the most severe critics of our Continent have admitted this progress.

Despite this progress, many African countries are still facing different forms and manifestatians of terrorism, as well as transnational organized crimes such as human trafficking and drug trafficking, piracy, and the illicit proliferation of arms.

That is why we support any efforts to maintain peace and security in Africa. These efforts are guided by our common resolve to strengthen the presence of Africa in the international fora and by building partnerships, solidarity and friendship among our countries and with other countries of the world .

Excellencies Ladies and Gentlemen,

After eighteen years of debate, and I wish to add that in life eighteen years is the year when one is finally considered a legal adult. It is now high time for us to come up with a new results-based approach. Especially as everyone in this room and around the world agrees unanimously on three key facts. That Africa deserves to have full membership at the United Nations Security Council, not least because of the number of African member states that make up UN general membership. Secondly the sheer size of the population in Africa and thirdly, more than half of the Council business is exclusively on and about African issues. In addition, our recent full membership to the G20 is an acknowledgement by the international community that legitimately should lead to full membership of the UN Security Security Council.

Excellencies,

Ladies and Gentlemen,

As we deliberate our agenda today, we must remain mindful that Africa and the African people are waiting impatiently for the outcome of this important Summit. That is why efforts shall continue to achieve this African dream come true to secure two permanent seats in the UNSC.

This can never be reached if we don’t remain unified and independent from the stakes, games and rivalries of other global superpowers.

I wish full success to our summit and a resounding success to our deliberations.

I thank you for your kind attention.