Programme Number: 057
Week of: Sunday, 17th July, 2005
Recording Date: Thursday, 21st July, 2005
Topical Issue(s):

" AFRICA'S BATTLE FOR POWER IN THE SECURITY COUNCIL: As the debate for UN reform rages ahead of September's World Summit, African nations as a block have unveiled an ambitious resolution demanding 2 veto-carrying permanent seats plus 5 non-permanent ones in the influential Security Council.
The demand by the 54-nation Africa bloc at the United Nations appears to throw into complete disarray the much-publicised proposals of a group of four key countries known as the G4 who had started an early international diplomatic and political campaign for their own permanent seats. Brazil, Japan, Germany and India have united behind a proposal that that will see the current 15-member Security Council, expanded to 25. Africa wants it expanded to 26. But, why exactly are African nations fighting for these Security Council powers now? Can Africa be successful in getting all it's demanding? Which two African nations should become the permanent members of the Council?

" AFRICAN WOMEN IN CONFLICT PREVENTION AND PEACE-BUILDING: African women are the ones who suffer most when conflicts, wars and violence break out in any part of the continent. In fact, even when these conflicts end they are the ones who usually bear the brunt of the work of re-building their communities. But African women remains marginalised, neglected and taken for granted when decisions are being made on the local, regional and national levels.
Editor / Presenter: Ben Dotsei Malor
Producer:
Production Assistant: Nyi Nyi Teza
Studio Engineer: Carlos Marcias
Duration: 15'00"

PRESENTER: Greetings from United Nations Radio in New York.

PRESENTER:
Hello and welcome to UN and Africa. I'm Ben Dotsei Malor.

PRESENTER:
African nations take a tough position to demand 7 seats on the influential Security Council - two of them to be veto-carrying permanent seats. But why? And can Africa get what it's demanding? Senior Nigerian diplomat, AMINU WALI.

CLIP-1: NIGERIA
"Africa is therefore open to negotiations. But for negotiations to be productive, it goes without saying that the interlocutors must have fundamental points of agreement, bearing in mind the determination of Africa to rectify its present position as the only region without representation on the Security Council in the permanent member category."

PRESENTER:
And still on power … Why are African women - the ones who suffer most in all acts of violence - still being denied the opportunities to prevent and resolve the conflicts?

CLIP2: NYARADZAI
"It’s about power. It’s about power. In addition to that, it’s also the whole issue of attitude. It’s about recognizing that women are leaders. It’s attitude on the party of society including other women. There are some women who also feel, ‘can I really be the chairman?’."

That's Nyaradzai Gumbonzvanda of the UN Development Fund for Women, UNIFEM. … More from her in a moment.

Stay with us, here, on UN and Africa.

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AFRICA'S BATTLE FOR POWER IN THE SECURITY COUNCIL

As the debate for UN reform rages ahead of September's World Summit, African nations, as a block, have unveiled an ambitious resolution demanding 2 veto-carrying permanent seats plus 5 non-permanent ones in the influential Security Council.

(And maybe, unusually for a Radio programme, you may need pen and paper to do the arithmetics involved in this story.)

The Council is currently made up of 15 members - there are the permanent five - the USA, France, China, the UK and Russia - who carry veto powers and there are ten non-permanent seats occupied on a 2-yearly basis by countries nominated by the world's regional groupings.

The demand by the Africa bloc at the United Nations appears to throw into complete disarray the much-publicised proposals of a group of four key countries, known as the G4, who had started an early international diplomatic and political campaign for their own permanent seats. Brazil, Japan, Germany and India have united behind a proposal that that will see the current 15-member Security Council, expanded to 25. Africa wants it expanded to 26. The G4 have also dropped their demand for the veto powers, something Africa nations are currently holding dear.

But, why exactly are African nations fighting for these changes in the Security Council? And how successful can they be in getting all that they're demanding?

Well, Nigeria has been at the forefront of Africa's campaign, not just because of Nigeria's own desire for a permanent seat but also because Nigeria currently holds the leadership of the African Union.
In the UN General Assembly, Nigeria's envoy, AMINU BASHIR WALI, introduced Africa's resolution.

CLIP WALI AFRICAN POSITION

Legitimacy and true equal representation are the reasons why African leaders have adopted a unified position on this issue, according to South African diplomat, Xolisa Mabhongo.

CLIP XOLISA WHY

CLIP: ALGERIAN ENVOY ACTUALITY
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The Algerian envoy to the UN, Abdallah Bali, spoke of his country's support for the resolution tabled on behalf of Africa by the Nigerian envoy. He added that the Security Council's historical injustice towards Africa needed to be remedied.
CLIP: ALGERIAN ENVOY ACTUALITY

And, a 'historical injustice' towards Africa was another key part of the General Assembly address by South Africa's Xolisa Mabhongo.

CLIP XOLISA, HISTORICAL INJUSTICE

CLIP EGYPT AFRICAN ISSUES
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Egyptian envoy Maged Abdelaziz also stressed the unity of African leaders on the issue. And he stated that despite the fact that African issues dominated more than 60 per cent of the Security Council's agenda, the continent had been kept out of the key permanent-seat position in the council.

In recent days talks have been held here in New York, between several African diplomats on the one hand and foreign ministers of the G4 Brazil, Germany, India and Japan on the other hand, in an effort to adopt a common position towards the Council's expansion. The G4 proposal cannot succeed without the broad support of the 54 African nations. The talks failed to produce any results but Africa is still open to negotiations, according to Nigeria's AMINU WALI:

CLIP WALI NEGOTIATIONS

One thing is agreed by all, and that is that Africa must have two permanent seats on the Security Council.
But African nations have not yet agreed on which two nations should take these important positions. Nigeria, Egypt and South Africa are considered the top contenders.
The discussions on the Security Council expansion and overall reform of the United Nations are expected to continue up to the World Summit in mid-September when more than 100 hundred Heads of State and government are expected to gather at the UN in New York to reach agreement on proposals for UN reform outlined by UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan.

STING/JINGLE: UN AND AFRICA THEME

AFRICAN WOMEN IN CONFLICT-PREVENTION AND PEACEBUILDING

African women are the ones who suffer most when conflicts, wars and violence break out in any part of the continent. In fact, even when these conflicts end they are the ones who usually bear the brunt of the work of re-building their communities. But African women remains marginalised, neglected and taken for granted when decisions are being made on the local, regional and national levels.

Why is this the case? Why is the role of women not seriously considered? What needs to be done?

These and other relevant issues have been discussed among women and other delegates from several parts of the world, meeting here at the United Nations to look at how civil society groups can form partnerships that prevent violence and build peace. One of the participants was Nyaradzai Gumbonzvanda, a Zimbabwean who's the Regional Director of the UN Development Fund for Women UNIFEM, in East Africa and the Horn. In our studio, I asked Nyaradzai first to describe the specific conflict and war issues affecting African women now.

INTERVIEW WITH NYARADZAI GUMBONZVANDA
Conflict happens. Cote D'Ivorie. Daraci. The majority of people on the move, who are displaced are the women and their children. When families and communities are fractured and disintegrated, it is the family and the children whose own social relations, whose own status in the communities shift. It is the widows, It is the single mothers, Who find it very difficult for re-integration, to come back home and claim a particular space which they called their own. Especially for women who were married. When you come back home, you have to make a decision. Do you go to that family and community where you married? What are the issues if you want to claim land and property where you married. Would they accept you after 15 years of absence? Or do you go back to where you were born. Will your brothers are married, have children of their own and accept their sister? For African women who are displaced, again you find that after war there is the whole demobilization disarmament our husbands, our fathers, our sons, they come back home. They come back home to a woman, to a women who is to re-integrates them back into society. Who has to deal with the emotions of trauma. Who with very minimum has to make sure she gives back the confidence and the security and deals with the stigma. Yet these women are not prioritized in reconstruction programming. When demobilization is our experience Liberia and elsewhere. The combatant we think about is the combatant holding the gun. BUT the women are the combatants at the frontline, She deals with sexual violence. She had to make sure she supports the engagement and yet when disarmament happens and demobilization she is not prioritized with programs dealing with own particular trauma.

Practically?

Practically, women are organized. If there is one social group which is organized it is the women's groups. When a funeral happens, its just women who mobilize themselves to respond to the situation. If a child is born, there are community groups that give support. Women NGO's, there are original women's coalitions women are already organized and mobilized what is not happening is to see that the strategic opportunity within which Africa can rebuild and reconstruct. And within the UN is UNIFEM is to center stage women networks is Part of this vehicle for sustainable peace building. But this cannot happen if women are not in decision making. Where are the women in communities in the different spaces to see where the resources are going and how they are prioritized

Why?

It's about power. (simply?) It's about power. When it comes to issues of power., We find that it is a critical dimension. In addition to that, It's about attitude. It is about Recognizing women as leaders. There are some women who really feel- Can I really be a chairmen? What would the community feel if I was elected Chair? It's about self-censorship based on social stereotyping. So we find other women saying "nuh uh" Going into decision making, this politics is for men, because they feel that the general attitude is there in politics. But it's not, because this is about democratic governance. This is about how and where and how the decision are made, to our resources and our people. It is central that women get involved

Education?

Central. Very central. But we have to separate formal book education. The illiteracy aspect. I know many African women including my mother who has only gone to the 3rd grade. But they have wisdom, they have knowledge they have set in capacity. They may not articulate themselves in English or French, or other languages, but they know what is good for their country. They know what is good for their children and community. So we have to indeed, We have to put primacy on education, secondary education, technical education. But there is wisdom grounded on own experiences irrespective of illiteracy. Those education requirements that can be enhanced. But that should not be used as a basis of exclusion. If it is used as a basis of exclusion. Because if it is used as a basis of exclusion, it means that women will not be in decision making, as we know of the high literacy levels especially in conflict country

That was Nyaradzai Gumbonzvanda, the UNIFEM Regional Director for the East and Horn of Africa.

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PRESENTER:

Thank you for listening to UN and Africa.

On behalf of all of us here on the team, Nyi Nyi Teza and Carlos Marcias, thanks again. I'm Ben Dotsei Malor. Join us again next week.

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