"Current Two-Track System of Governance not Sustainable" Kagame Warns the U.N.

President of Rwanda, Paul Kagame, who is also the current African Union chairperson was the first African head of state to address the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Debate on Tuesday, September 25, 2018.

He took the opportunity of his delivery to recount recent achievements in the African continent which includes; Africa Continental Free Trade Agreement, cessation of hostilities among countries in Africa and the progress made by Zimbabwe to deal with political and economic challenges. Citing these points, he employed United Nations delegates and other world leaders to change their views of Africa.

He, however, pointed out that although a lot has been done and achieved over a very short period of time, there is a lot that needs to be done to ‘harmonize overlapping initiatives’ and ensure that ‘signed agreements are respected’.

He said:

‘‘The trend on our continent is toward closer and more productive cooperation both through the African Union and our Regional Economic Communities.

‘‘The United Nations Security Council must work with the African Union to monitor progress made by countries in the Horn of Africa.’‘

He also asked the United Nations to continue working with the continent to resolve crises in the Central Africa Republic, Libya, and South Sudan among others.

Speaking to the Security Council of the United Nations, Kagame, WHO said the three representatives of Africa at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) would be presenting a resolution shortly, asked delegates to work towards reducing the imbalance of power at the United Nations.

With only five permanent members at the powerful UNSC including United States, China, Russia, France, and the United Kingdom, the rest of the members of the UN have always called for more equal representation.

‘‘The current two-track system of governance where some players are more important than others is not sustainable,’‘ Kagame warned.

Similar sentiments had been earlier shared by the Turkish president who told delegates at UNGA that the system of giving more power to countries that contribute more financially cannot achieve true justice.

The UNSC which has 15 members, including 10 non-permanent members who are elected to serve two-year terms by the General Assembly, is the only U.N. body that can make legally binding decisions and has the power to impose sanctions and authorize the use of force.