UN General Assembly
1997

Why should a small minority of States continue to wield so much power over the destiny of the majority without the latter’s consent? Why, indeed, are there frequent and persistent attempts by few States to undermine and circumvent the most democratic and representative body of the United Nations — the General Assembly — on matters of crucial concern to the entire international community? What are we to make of this? Are we meant to conclude that democracy and good governance at the international level should only be at the pleasure and behest of the mighty and powerful? Surely this state of affairs cannot continue, as it makes a mockery of the lofty and hallowed democratic principles we profess to cherish dearly at the national level. The thirty-third ordinary summit of the Organization of African Unity (OAU), held in Harare in June this year, underscored the pressing need for democratizing the United Nations Security Council and stressed that the process should take full account of the position of Africa as the largest continental grouping at the United Nations as far as