AFRICA’S SEAT AT THE TABLE: AFRICAN AGENCY AND UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL REFORM AFTER THE PACT FOR THE FUTURE, 2024–2026

Abstract

This study examines African agency in United Nations Security Council reform from the adoption of the Pact for the Future on 22 September 2024 to September 2026. It asks whether the Pact's commitment to correct the historical injustice done to Africa changed Africa's stance on reform, or whether it merely confirmed recognition without transferring power. The qualitative systemic narrative analysis draws on the Pact, the United Nations Charter, records of intergovernmental negotiations, African Union decisions, statements by the permanent members, Security Council practice, and peerreviewed scholarship. The analysis draws on African agency theory and historical institutionalism. The results address two hypotheses. First, African actors made important normative and procedural advances: Sierra Leone's high-level debate, coordinated Committee of Ten diplomacy, reaffirmation of the Ezulwini Consensus, the Lusaka process, and the formal transmission of the African Model put an African-authored proposal on firmer ground in United Nations deliberations. These gains did not result in new seats, veto rights, or a Charter amendment by September 2026. Second, continental unity still needs to become a cross-regional deal acceptable under Article 108, involving all five permanent members. The main challenges are competing visions of reform, uncertainty over permanent-seat selection, and opposition to granting the veto privilege. The study concludes that although Africa is no longer a representational debate and African actors now set the agenda, they have yet to become more constitutive of the institution. It requires a twofold strategy: safeguarding the Common African Position and considering sequenced options, transparent selection criteria, regional accountability, and an enhanced partnership to develop a Charter-ready document