Republic of Congo and DR Congo leaders call for reforms at the UN Security Council

The presidents of Republic of Congo and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have reiterated their support for an African proposal for reforms at the UN Security Council.

During a meeting held earlier this week in Oyo, nearly 400 kilometres from Congo’s capital Brazzaville, Denis Sassou Nguesso of Congo and his counterpart Joseph Kabila of the DRC said they supported the Ezulwini Consensus which was agreed by the African Union in 2005 .

It proposes that Africa should have two permanent and two non- permanent seats at the Security Council.

The council which is tasked with the primary duty of maintaining international peace and security, has 5 permanent members and 10 non- permanent members and each member has one vote. It is the only UN body that can make legally binding decisions.

Out of the total 15 member states, Africa currently has only 3 seats in the non- permanent category.

In strengthening bilateral ties, the two leaders discussed the need to reinforce cooperation between their two countries through dialogue.