Ambassador Michael Imran Kanu of Sierra Leone is president of the United Nations Security Council in August. He plans to use the international platform to advocate on behalf of the African Union for a permanent Council seat for the continent and more elected seats through a debate this month, Aug. 1, 2024. JOHN PENNEY/PASSBLUE
By Damilola Banjo
There is near-universal consensus to reform the United Nations Security Council, but there is no agreement on what changes should be made or how they can be accomplished. Sierra Leone, the West African country elected to the Council for a two-year term that began in January, is focusing on this topic during its rotating presidency in August. It will be the first time the Council will concentrate entirely on this matter.
Michael Imran Kanu, Sierra Leone’s permanent representative to the UN, emphasized in a recent interview with PassBlue that a reformed Council must resolve Africa’s representation. The African Union has long called for countries from the continent to have at least two permanent seats and two additional elective seats in an expanded Council.
“What we’ll focus on in this debate in the Security Council is really just making the case for Africa,” Kanu said during the interview in his office near the UN. “But also showing that because of the historical injustice, Africa should be treated as a special case and should be prioritized.” The debate is scheduled for Aug. 12; President Julius Maada Bio of Sierra Leone will preside and Secretary-General António Guterres will brief.
The debate on Council reform has been going on elsewhere in the UN for half its 79-year lifespan but momentum is needed to conclude the process, Kanu said. The Council discussion this month offers an opportunity for its members, particularly the five permanent ones (P5), to show support for what is being called the Common African Position, Kanu added.
This is also an important moment before heads of state and government arrive in mid-September at UN headquarters to adopt the Pact for the Future — a declaration reinforcing the Summit of the Future, the centrepiece of the General Assembly’s opening session this year. Negotiations among member states on the language in the pact regarding Council reform is “substantive,” Kano told reporters on Aug. 1, though he didn’t say whether definitive news would emerge in September on the matter, but he said “sufficient momentum” could be realized by the UN’s 80th anniversary next year.
Kanu pointed out that the example of the People’s Republic of China becoming a permanent member sets a precedent for a “special case” for Africa. China was added to the Council on Oct. 25, 1971, through the adoption of General Assembly Resolution 2758, which expelled the Republic of China (Taiwan) and “restored” China as the legitimate occupant of the Chinese seat.
“We’re pursuing the presidency with a discussion or debate on the reform of the Security Council, the structural composition but with a focus on the African historical injustice,” Kanu said. “This is to ensure that there is an equitable geographical distribution that is the principle of the UN Charter.”
Member states widely agree that the post-World War II power dynamics that shaped the current structure of the Council must change for a more just, representative body. Guterres has noted that all five permanent members — Britain, China, France, Russia and the United States — support at least one permanent seat for Africa.
The first major reform of the Council, in 1962, sought to address this imbalance by allocating five new seats for African and Asian states, one for Eastern European states, two for Latin American states and two for Western European and other states, through General Assembly Resolution 1991. It increased the number of non-permanent members to 10 from six.
Yet, the imbalance of power in the Council remains unresolved. Jane Boulden, an international relations and security studies expert at the Royal Military College of Canada, questions whether the conversation should focus solely on representation or feature a review of the Council’s efficiency. She argues that the debate should concentrate more on the Council’s inability to deliver its goal of maintaining global peace and security.
“A discussion on [Security Council Reform] is not an obvious one that will generate significant results,” she said. “Security Council reform is enormously difficult. It’s highly contentious, there are a lot of hoops to get through just to discuss it, let alone discussing specifics.”
Sierra Leone’s agenda on Council reform will be enhanced in an Aug. 21 open debate on building peace. As the leader of the Committee of 10 (C10) heads of state and government under the African Union, the country will argue that more African representation will improve peace and security in the continent.
UN member states have differing visions of what a reformed Council would look like. South Korea, a current member, opposes increased permanent membership, wary of Japan’s ambitions in that regard. India, Germany and Brazil are also seeking a permanent seat each.
The US supports expanding the Council to include more nonpermanent seats and permanent seats for Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean but does not grant veto power to new members. President Joe Biden announced the US backing of the Council’s expansion, yet nearly two years later, nothing has changed.
“Everybody wouldn’t get their ideal scenario,” Boulden said. “There is an outcome where key criteria are met for everybody. Every group or state is going to have some fundamentals that they want no matter what, and I think those are achievable in some form.”
Additionally, on Aug. 7, Sierra Leone is holding an open debate on sustaining the women, peace and security agenda amid accelerating drawdowns of peacekeeping missions. The Council will also hold regularly scheduled meetings on the UN peacekeeping missions in Lebanon and South Sudan; the political mission in Libya; and on Syria. Other sessions on the Mideast may surface, given the recent escalations in the region; developments in Ukraine could require a meeting as well.
Each month, PassBlue profiles UN ambassadors as their countries assume the Council presidency. To hear more details about the goals of Sierra Leone in August and Boulden’s assessment of Security Council reform, listen to PassBlue’s podcast, UNSCripted, produced by Damilola Banjo and Olivia Ndubuisi. The new episode is available on SoundCloud.
Excerpts from the interview with Kanu, conducted on July 24, have been edited and condensed for clarity.
PassBlue: What’s it like for Sierra Leone to be back in the Security Council after 53 years’ absence?
Kanu: It was just a moment ago, right? Fifty-three years, not so long ago. Sierra Leone joined the United Nations immediately after its independence in 1961. We’ve been active throughout, but we had our difficulties in the 90s. We had civil conflicts. Before that, we had a one-party dictatorship that lasted for over 30 years. We were able to resolve our dispute and after some two decades, we’ve consolidated democratic governance and we’re back in the Security Council with a unique experience. It has been hectic; it has been a difficult time given the difficult and complex situations we have around the world.
PassBlue: Your minister of foreign affairs, Timothy Kabba, said at the Chatham House think tank in the UK that Security Council reform would be Sierra Leone’s priority. What will a reformed Council look like?
Kanu: A reformed Security Council should incorporate the common African position. There has been tremendous progress in the General Assembly in ensuring that there is wide support for a common African position. It demands a seat in the permanent category, where Africa is presently not represented, and an additional two seats at the nonpermanent category that will take it to five seats. This is to ensure that there is equitable geographical distribution, which is the principle of the UN Charter. We’re also alive to the fact that there is a need for the representation of other categories.
PassBlue: What else will Sierra Leone be concentrating on in August?
Kanu: We’ve decided to do just two signature meetings. One on Security Council reform, which is a debate. We’ll also have an open debate on peace-building and sustaining peace. The reason we decided to do this is to implement SDG16 [Sustainable Development Goal 16] for peace, strong institutions and justice. Also because of the Summit of the Future [in mid-September]. We think it’s a good way to build momentum toward the summit and highlight the importance of [conflict] prevention. The Council is focused on dealing with conflicts, but more could be done in prevention.
PassBlue: As a West African country, will your agenda on peace and security look at the fragmentation of the Economic Community of West African States (Ecowas) since the departures of Burkina Faso, Mali and Niger from the organization as well as conflict in the region?
Kanu: I do not share the view that Ecowas is divided. This allows me to talk about the important work we’ve done on Ecowas and the Sahel. We got the Security Council to agree to a presidential statement, although they’ve been selling it for two and a half years. When it comes to what you see as divided, or in terms of regional organization and subregional organization, I think there’s space for a focused approach to some aspects. I’ll give you an example: Sierra Leone is a strong member of Ecowas but also served as a member of the Mano River Union, which involves Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire. It doesn’t mean that because we have this group within the greater subregion we are divided. In terms of the open Council debate, the intention is to get to the point where we do not have a crisis and to do a lot of [conflict] prevention work. Now, where we have conflict already, or when we’re dealing with the terrorism issue in the Sahel and West Africa, what we need is resources. You can devote resources to deal with the insecurity as well as pursue political transitional objectives. The two are not exclusive.
PassBlue: Congratulations on Sierra Leone’s ban on child marriage. That was a great piece of legislation, but what is the government doing about female genital mutilation (FGM)?
Kanu: First, I think we have to be clear on the terminology. It’s female genital circumcision. A lot has been done on female genital circumcision already. We have a law in Sierra Leone that no child below age 18 can be circumcised. Now, what you’re talking about is the cultural aspect and that is the autonomy of the individual. Once you’ve reached the threshold, it is the individual’s autonomy. The agency is with the individual. If you want to change the practice, you have to engage with the people.
Ambassador to the UN: Michael Imran Kanu, 49
Since: 2024
Languages: English
Education: Doctorate of juridical science degree in international business law (SJD), Central European University; master of laws in international business law (LL.M), Central European University; degree of utter barrister (B.L), Sierra Leone Law School; and bachelor of laws with honors (LL.B), Fourah Bay College, University of Sierra Leone.
His story, briefly: Kanu, the permanent representative of Sierra Leone to the UN, also holds the positions of ambassador to Argentina, Cuba, Mexico, Uruguay and Venezuela, as well as permanent representative to the International Seabed Authority in Kingston, Jamaica. He is a member of the Legal and Technical Commission of the International Seabed Authority (2023-2027) and co-chair of the Review Mechanism of the International Criminal Court and the Rome Statute system. Kanu previously served as ambassador and deputy permanent representative of legal affairs at the Sierra Leone mission in New York City from 2018 to 2023. In Sierra Leone, he practiced law as the managing partner of Kanu & Associates and was a prosecutor for the Anti-Corruption Commission. He is married to Rita Sia Abibatu Kanu and they have two children.
About the Author
Damilola Banjo is a reporter for PassBlue. She has a master’s of science degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism and a B.A. in communications and language arts from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. She has worked as a producer for NPR’s WAFE station in Charlotte, N.C.; for the BBC as an investigative journalist; and as a staff investigative reporter for Sahara Reporters Media.
