Angolan President calls for urgent restructuring of UN Security Council

The Angolan President, João Lourenço, defended on Tuesday the urgency of restructuring the United Nations Security Council to ensure the presence of currently excluded regions as permanent members.

Speaking in Luanda, at the opening of the expanded consultative council of the Angolan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, João Lourenço referred to regions such as Africa and South America, “whose voice cannot be neglected, because it can be determinant in the decision making on key issues such as peace and security, food security, environmental defense, public health and others that have to do with survival at a global level.”

“No safe and lasting solutions have yet been found for the situations of dangerous and protracted conflicts such as the Korean peninsula and Israeli-Palestinian, whose Security Council resolutions have been disrespected and ignored,” he said.

The Angolan Head of State recalled that there was never an effective peace in the world after the second world war, despite the creation of the United Nations Organization, whose role is to ensure world peace and security.

According to João Lourenço, the lack of balance of interests is at the origin of many of the current problems. “Hence the need for world leaders to assume the responsibility of making a deep reflection on the central and unavoidable role that the United Nations must have, so that the destiny of humanity is built on the basis of scrupulous respect and observance of the norms of international law and the United Nations charter,” he stressed.

The Angolan President recalled that Africa faces numerous armed conflicts, some internal and others between neighboring countries, situations for which Angola has sought with its experience to help overcome the problems affecting its neighbors.

“All so that they may dialogue, negotiate peace and, thus, dedicate all their energies and available resources to the exclusive service and economic and social development of their countries,” he said.

João Lourenço stressed that the Angolan diplomacy defends the negotiated and peaceful resolution of conflicts of any size and magnitude and on any continent.