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VP Alupo, Barbados PM call for urgent reform of UN Security Council

Benjamin Jumbe | September 23, 2022

The Vice President, Jessica Alupo has underscored the need to reform the United Nations (UN) Security Council.

Addressing the UN General Assembly on Thursday, Alupo said the need to reform the Security Council is now more urgent and imperative than ever before.

She said the present geopolitical realities are more compelling for a comprehensive reform of the Security Council to make way for equitable representation

Alupo also said it was regrettable and hypocritical that some of the regions and nations that mismanaged the environment and are disproportionately responsible for global warming have embarked on a rigorous campaign to thwart efforts of other countries to responsibly and sustainably develop the oil and gas sectors.

She added that development should be environmentally friendly, inclusive, and provide benefits for all.

Addressing the same Assembly, Barbados Prime Minister, Mia Amor Mottley also referred to the United States President’s words earlier this week and supported a reform of the Security Council

“We call an echo for that, but we go further. We believe that a Security Council that retains the power of veto in the hands of a few, will still lead us to war as we have seen this year, and therefore the reform cannot simply be in its composition but also [must include] the removal of that veto,” she said.

Ms. Mottley also called for the reform of the G20 and G7 groups, arguing that Barbados “cannot accept” these “informal committees of governance” when they have no African-descent representation and exclude 1.5 billion people in the world.

“How could it be expected to reflect fairness and transparency in its decision-making?” she wondered.

She argued that to be able to move from “possibilities” to “realities” it is essential to embrace a transparency framework that would allow the people who are losing faith in institutions that fairness does mean something.

“Fairness and togetherness are needed to bring about peace, love, and prosperity in this world. And this is not romanticism these are hard realities that simply require decisions,” she explained.