Advancing Africa’s Interests in the Changing Global Order

It was a pleasure to join fellow speakers and participants for a timely conversation organised by the Amandla Institute for Policy and Leadership Advancement on the sidelines of the 80th United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Under the theme “Advancing Africa’s Interests in the Changing Global Order,” we reflected on the challenges and opportunities facing the continent, and the kind of leadership and strategic engagement needed in this pivotal moment.

1. ADVANCING AFRICA’S INTERESTS IN THE CHANGING GLOBAL ORDER
Welcome Remarks of H.E Dr Kayode Fayemi during the Amandla Institute for Policy and
Leadership Advancement Conversation at the 80th United Nations General Assembly in
New York
20
th
September, 2025

Protocols

It gives me great pleasure to welcome you all to the Amandla Institute’s meeting on the
sidelines of the 2025 UNGA. The 2025 General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) is
taking place at a very challenging moment in world history. Amidst the ongoing
reconfiguration of the international system, we are witnessing the dismantling of some of
the key pillars of the post-1945 global order, an intensifying realignment of relations
among nations, and a veritable process of deglobalisation that is rolling back the
principles of interdependence and multilateralism that were promoted as building blocks
for sustained international stability. This state of affairs has already manifested itself in
several consequences, not least the collapse of some of the core norms and values that
underpinned the post-1945 global order; the resurgence of narrow nationalism, petty
xenophobia, and open racism; the rise of unilateralist, isolationist, and aggressive
policies and postures; the spread of armed conflicts, violence, and impunity; and a
wanton disregard for international law by some of the most powerful actors in the global
system.
The worst brunt of the consequences of the ongoing realignments in the global order has
been borne by the weakest and poorest members of the international community, many
of whom are located in Africa and the Caribbean. They are the ones who were the least
beneficiaries of the old order that is gradually fading out. They are also the most
vulnerable to the changes currently happening in the international system, in all their
unpredictability and disruptiveness. The situation of our countries is made even more
precarious by the intensified whittling down of the authority of the UN by the very same
big powers that were once the guarantors of its founding doctrine of collective security,
and the severe curtailment of the financial resources for its work by some of the most
significant historic funders of its operations. They are also the ones most threatened by
such adverse developments as global climate change, which the industrialised countries
are mainly responsible for causing.
Ordinarily, the Amandla Institute for Policy and Leadership Advancement would have, like
other actors that believe in the imperative of multilateral diplomacy for the sustenance
of world peace, used the occasion of the 80th anniversary of the founding of the UN to

2. host an event critically examining the contribution of the organisation to post-colonial
Africa, including a celebration of its major successes. However, the times call for less
exuberant celebration and more sober reflection and introspection. The world has not
faced a greater peril since 1945 than it does today. The UN itself is faced with its worst
existential crisis. The questions that arise are many: How will a world without a vibrant
and respected UN look like? What options exist for reinventing and reinvigorating a
functioning and fair multilateral order? What does the future hold for the countries of the
global South in an age where it seems that might is right and impunity is rampant? This
last question is of particular interest to the African and Caribbean members of the UN. It
is the main reason why the Amandla Institute has convened this side event on the back
of the 80th UN General Assembly.
When the post-1945 order was established mainly under the leadership of the United
States, African countries and their Caribbean counterparts, excepting Haiti and Ethiopia,
were still under colonial rule, and global Africa, particularly in the Americas, was in the
throes of its struggle for the most basic human rights and civil liberties. What this meant,
in effect, was that Africa and its diaspora had no direct or indirect input into the shaping
of the post-war order that emerged. As African and later Caribbean countries began to
achieve independence from the second half of the 1950s onward, they became members
of the United Nations, primarily to join a body whose rules had been established and
hierarchies of power were in place. And although they were, by their sheer numbers, to
become the single largest bloc of countries in the UN General Assembly with 55
members, the efforts deployed by independent African and Caribbean states for the
reform of the organisation and for a new international economic and communications
order did not yield the expected results. Real power and influence continued to lie with
the permanent members of the Security Council, and, outside the UN, with such bodies
as the Group of 7 (G-7) countries. Since 2005, African states have taken a unified position
known as the Ezulwini Consensus which has pushed for the expansion of the Security
Council to 24 members from its current 15, with not less than two permanent seats and
five non permanent seats on the Security Council. for the continent. This was further
reaffirmed in the Sirte Declaration.
With power relations in the international system being reshuffled amid a process of long-
term decline by some key actors of the post-1945 order, the rapid re-emergence of others,
and the rise of various other actors, including a slew of middle powers, the practice of
politics among nations is undergoing rapid change. For the countries of Africa and the
peoples of Global Africa, one of the most pressing challenges is how to effectively defend
their interests. This is not an idle preoccupation, not only because of the new arms race
and unchecked abuses of raw power that we are witnessing around the world, but also in
the face of aggressive expressions of interest in Africa and its resources, which some
have already characterised as a new scramble for the continent. Clearly, the sovereignty
of African countries and their diaspora communities must be taken as seriously as the

3. advancement of their goals for structural transformation and the defence of the agency
of their peoples and governments in the international system.
Although the question of the global governance institutional reform is as old as the
establishment of the United Nations in 1945 and every Secretary-General of the United
Nations has introduced a number of reforms, sadly these reforms have been largely
tokenistic tinkering at the edges and not “nuts and bolts” changes, especially on the issue
of equitable representation. Africa countries have been at the forefront of the struggle to
redress the historical injustice through bodies like the G77 and the Non Aligned
Movement and as late as September 2024, the outcome documents of the Summit of the
Future held by World leaders here in New York recognised the urgent need to make the
“UN more representative, inclusive, transparent, efficient, effective, democratic and
accountable” and agreed the parameters of reform to include “redressing the injustice
against Africa as a priority and, while treating Africa as a special case, improve the
representation of the under-represented and unrepresented regions and groups, such as
Asia-Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean.” (UN Summit of the Future, Outcome
Documents, September 2024). Good as that sounds, the devil is always in the details of
such declarations even as Africa continues to experience unrelenting conflicts in the
Sahel, Sudan and Congo.
This is why we are here with the sole objective of ensuring that Africa does not just end
up as a rule taker but also as a co-rule architect. And to help us with that reflection are
some of the most accomplished thought leaders on the continent who have been
involved at various levels in helping to redefine the Africa we want - a continent that
genuinely serve its people and is responsive to their yearnings.
Let me therefore welcome you all once again and hand you over to our moderator for this
afternoon’s event, Professor Tandeka Nkiwane who will take us through the agenda by
first introducing our speakers and expertly steer the conversation.
Thank you.