Mahama Marks Return to UN General Assembly With Call for Permanent Africa Seat on Security Council
- President John Mahama has addressed the UN General Assembly for the first time since 2016
- Mahama renewed the calls for permanent African representation on the UN Security Council
- Mahama further argued that veto power should not be absolute and restricted to just five nations
John Mahama renewed Africa’s call for permanent representation on the UN Security Council in his address to the General Assembly.
The President of Ghana insisted that the current structure does not reflect the global reality.
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Addressing the General Assembly on September 25, 2025, he criticised the UN’s founding charter as outdated when it comes to representation.
“The most powerful post-World War II nations are still being rewarded with an almost totalitarian guardianship over the rest of the world."
“If this were truly the case, a continent as large as Africa with its numerous UN Member States would have at least one permanent seat on the Security Council.”
Mahama further argued that veto power should not be absolute and restricted to only five nations.
Recalling Nelson Mandela’s address to the UN in 1995, Mahama said Africa’s demand for reform had remained unchanged for three decades.
Mahama calls for reparations in UN address
Mahama also announced that Ghana would table a motion at the UN to recognise the transatlantic slave trade as the greatest crime against humanity.
The statesman said the world needed to confront the atrocities of the slave trade.
“The slave trade must be recognised as the greatest crime against humanity. As African champion on reparations, Ghana intends to introduce a motion in this August body to that effect."
Mahama brought up reparations in February 2025 in a message at the 38th Ordinary Session of the African Union Assembly.
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“It is an appeal to ensure that the dignity, rights, and well-being of Africans and their descendants are fully restored."
Mahama emphasised that reparations extend beyond financial compensation to include restitution, rehabilitation, and guarantees of non-repetition for past abuses.
Akufo-Addo makes call for reparations
Past Ghanaian leaders have also made similar calls.
At the 78th UN General Assembly on September 20, 2023, then President Nana Akufo-Addo told world leaders that African states must be paid reparations for the slave trade.
He said for centuries, the world had been unwilling to confront the realities of slavery.
"For centuries, the world has been unwilling and unable to confront the realities of the consequences of the Slave Trade."
Ghana has since said it would press the African Union to reach out to the diaspora to strengthen demand for reparations for the transatlantic slave trade.
Akufo-Addo says developed countries must assist Africa
YEN.com.gh also previously reported that former Ghanaian President Akufo-Addo said that it was not right that African countries were not being supported financially in the climate change fight.
During the 2023 Africa Climate Summit, he said that although Africans contribute very little to climate change, the continent faced the worst of its effects and received significant blame.
Proofreading by Bruce Douglas, copy editor at YEN.com.gh.
Source: YEN.com.gh
