President Julius Maada Bio Champions Africa’s Call for UN Security Council Reform at Oxford Union

President Bio calls for Africa’s permanent seats on UN Security Council in keynote at Oxford Union, urging global support for equitable reform.

OXFORD, OXFORDSHIRE, UNITED KINGDOM, June 1, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Sierra Leone’s President Dr. Julius Maada Bio has delivered a landmark keynote address at the prestigious Oxford Union, urging bold and urgent reform of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and amplifying Africa’s unified call for permanent representation.

Speaking on the theme, “The Common African Position on the Reform of the United Nations Security Council,” President Bio denounced the historical injustice of Africa’s exclusion from one of the most powerful global decision-making bodies. He emphasized that the current structure of the Security Council—frozen in the post-World War II order—fails to reflect today’s geopolitical realities.

“Africa is not asking for charity. Africa is asking for justice,” he declared. “As someone who has witnessed the horrors of war and now works for peace through diplomacy, I bear the voices of not only 7.5 million Sierra Leoneans but also 1.3 billion Africans.”

In his role as Coordinator of the African Union Committee of Ten Heads of State (C-10), President Bio spoke with the full authority of the African Union’s designated group on UNSC reform. The C-10 champions the Ezulwini Consensus and Sirte Declaration, Africa’s unified position demanding two permanent seats with veto powers, five non-permanent seats, and the right for the African Union to select its representatives.

“We are simply asking for equitable representation. A Security Council without Africa is incomplete, ineffective, and unjust,” the President said.

President Bio welcomed the growing international recognition of this need, referencing the 2024 UN General Assembly’s “Pact for the Future”, which acknowledged the moral and practical imperative to address Africa’s exclusion in matters of global peace and security.

With the 80th anniversary of the United Nations approaching, he urged the international community to seize this moment for transformational change.

“Let us use this milestone not to commemorate, but to correct. The world must finally repay its debt to Africa.”

Addressing students and young leaders at the Oxford Union, President Bio issued a stirring call to action:

“Equity in global governance is not a zero-sum game. A more inclusive Security Council will be stronger, more legitimate, and more representative of the world as it is—not as it was.”

His remarks come as the African Union commemorates 20 years since adopting its formal position on UNSC reform, reaffirming Africa’s rightful place in shaping a fairer, more democratic international system.

Full remarks can be accessed here.

Peter Beckley
Media and Communications Unit, State House of Sierra Leone
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