Ce qu’il faut retenir
The 78th UN General Assembly opens amid renewed calls to reshape the Security Council. A year after President Joe Biden backed two permanent African seats, negotiators face the test of translating rhetoric into binding consensus (UNGA 2022 address).
Congo-Brazzaville, a pivotal member of the African Union’s Committee of Ten (C10), pursues a tactful strategy that links governance reform to urgent priorities such as climate finance for the Congo Basin and maritime security in the Gulf of Guinea.
High-Stakes Week in Manhattan
Diplomats arriving on First Avenue sense that the UN’s 80th anniversary provides symbolic leverage. Fractures exposed by conflicts in Ukraine, Sudan and the Sahel fuel arguments that the current Council no longer reflects geopolitical reality.
African leaders will speak from the rostrum, but the real negotiation unfolds in side-events, corridor caucuses and working-level drafting sessions where every comma can tilt the balance between incremental wording and a genuine reform mandate.
Contexte
Since 2005, the Ezulwini Consensus has anchored Africa’s position: two permanent seats with veto rights and five non-permanent seats. The continent currently rotates three elected spots, which limits its influence on sanctions, mandates and funding.
Calendrier
Member states resume intergovernmental negotiations on Security Council reform in October. The African Union Summit in February 2024 will review progress and could adjust the continent’s negotiating line before the UN’s next negotiation cycle in May.
Acteurs
The C10—led by Sierra Leone and including Congo-Brazzaville, Kenya, Uganda and Senegal—coordinates Africa’s messaging. On the opposite bench, the G4 (Brazil, Germany, India, Japan) campaigns for a broader enlargement formula, while the Uniting for Consensus group resists new veto powers.
Brazzaville’s Calculated Diplomacy
Foreign Minister Jean-Claude Gakosso stresses that Congo’s voice seeks bridges, not blockages. By underlining the Congo Basin’s role as the planet’s ‘second lung,’ Brazzaville argues that meaningful African representation would strengthen global climate stewardship rather than fragment decision-making.
Officials highlight Congo’s record of constructive engagement, from mediating Central African crises to supporting peacekeeping budgets. «A stronger African hand at the Council would stabilise our neighbourhood and reduce the cost of reactive interventions,» an adviser notes.
African Permanent Seats: From Rhetoric to Roadmap
Analysts like Paul-Simon Handy warn that Washington’s 2022 endorsement raised expectations but did not unlock the two-thirds majority and Charter amendment required (Handy interview with RFI). Progress depends on rallying skeptical middle powers whose abstention could stall the process.
Congo’s diplomats are therefore drafting a phased option: immediate allocation of one additional elected seat for Africa, coupled with a legally binding commitment to open permanent seats within a defined timeframe. Such sequencing, they argue, could defuse procedural deadlocks.
Coalition-Building Inside the C10 Block
Brazzaville invests in quiet shuttle diplomacy across Central and West Africa to keep the C10 united. Divergent aspirations—Nigeria, South Africa and Egypt see themselves as natural permanent members—are managed through the principle of rotational eligibility rather than predetermined names.
Economic and Climate Stakes for Congo
Linking reform to development, Congo presses for synchronized negotiations on carbon finance and clean-energy corridors. Officials argue that equitable Council representation can accelerate funding pledges announced at the 2021 Glasgow summit, many of which remain undisbursed.
Scénarios
If a procedural resolution mandating text-based talks passes this session, Africa could see tangible movement before the UN’s 81st year. Failure would likely shift momentum to alternative forums such as the AU Peace and Security Council, where Congo already wields influence.
What Next After the 78th GA?
Regardless of immediate outcomes, Brazzaville positions itself as a consensus-builder. By coupling the moral argument for historical justice with pragmatic proposals, Congo intends to ensure that Africa’s long-promised seats move from aspiration to negotiable architecture, keeping multilateralism relevant for another generation.
