Advocating a reformed and more equitable UN SecBuhari speaks at UN, seeks expansion of Security Councilurity Council representative of the global community, Buhari said Nigeria had contributed its quotas to the implementation of UN’s mandates including participating in various peace-keeping missions authorised they global body in different parts of the world since 1960.
The President also advocated international cooperation towards accelerating the recovery efforts of Lake Chad Basin, and collaboration against illicit financial flows across borders as well as other forms of corruption within countries.
He maintained that the loss of the Lake Chad Basin to the negative impact of climate change was a major root cause of “intense economic competition especially between farmers and herdsmen”.
Buhari said these in his national statement as part of Nigeria’s positions on various international matters during the opening day of the General Debate of the 73rdSession of the United Nation’s General Assembly.
The President departed for New York on Sunday to attend the UNGA73.
The President’s Tuesday’s speech was made available to journalists by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Femi Adesina.
In his address on Tuesday, Buhari paid glowing tributes to the late seventh UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, for his invaluable contributions to global peace.
He also touched on various conflicts between nations, including the Israel-Palestine crisis and the worsening Middle-East conflicts, among others, in different parts of the world.
He called for a reformed Security Council of the UN with the expansion of the membership of both the permanent and non-permanent categories to achieve enduring peace and security.
The UN Security Council currently has five nations, namely, China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the USA, as its permanent members, with 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms by the General Assembly.
Buhari said the UN system being the only “institutional framework” by which to address the various challenges in the world, there was the need to make the Security Council more equitable and more representative of the global community.
He reminded the UN that Nigeria had contributed its quotas to the implementation of the mandates of the global organisation, including participating in peace-keeping missions authorised by it and the African Union in different parts of the world since the nation joined the body in 1960.
He also said his call for a reformed Security Council of the UN was in line with international consensus and in the world’s interest.
He said, “The only global institutional framework we have to address these challenges is the United Nations System.
“That is why we continue to call for the strengthening of the Organisation and making it more effective by speeding up the pace of progress towards its reform, including that of its principal organ, the Security Council.
“The reconstitution of the Council to make it more equitable and more representative of our global community is both a political and moral imperative.
“We believe that a reformed Security Council with expanded membership in both the permanent and non-permanent categories, is in accord with prevailing international consensus and it is in our collective interest to do so.
“It is high time we stopped skirting round the issue and establish achievable benchmarks and time frames for these reforms.”
