United States Ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, is set to announce the position that the US favours giving two permanent seats to African states in the Security Council, and one seat that would be rotated among small island developing states.

The action is being taken as the US looks to strengthen its relationships with Pacific Island countries that are crucial to fending off Chinese influence in the area and mend fences with Africa, where many people are upset over Washington’s support for Israel’s war in Gaza.

The declaration, which Thomas-Greenfield described as a part of US President Joe Biden’s legacy, is intended to “move this agenda forward in a way that we can achieve Security Council reform at some point in the future,” she told journalists.

In addition to Washington’s long-standing support for India, Japan, and Germany to also receive permanent seats on the council, there is a drive for two permanent African members and a rotating seat for small island developing states.

Developing countries have long sought seats on the Security Council, the UN’s most powerful body, permanently. However, years of reform negotiations have yielded little results, and it’s uncertain if US backing could spur action.

Thomas-Greenfield made it clear to Reuters ahead of the Council on Foreign Relations’ announcement in New York on Thursday that Washington opposes the extension of the veto power beyond the five nations that now possess it.

The Security Council is responsible of upholding global peace and security and is vested with the authority to employ force, impose sanctions, and enforce arms embargoes.

There were eleven members of the Security Council at the UN’s founding in 1945. In 1965, the number of members rose to 15, consisting of five permanent veto-wielding nations (the US, Britain, China, Russia, and France) and ten elected governments serving two-year terms.

The former prime minister of Cameroon who assumed leadership of the UN General Assembly has urged divided nations of the globe to unite and take action to address global issues like poverty, armed conflict, and climate change.

The 193-member world body was informed by Philemon Yang that there were concerns over the ability of nations to work together to address these and other urgent issues. But he added: “We must demonstrate that international cooperation remains the most effective tool at our disposal to address the deep and borderless problems we face. ”

The cornerstone of Mr. Yang’s one-year presidency, according to the veteran diplomat who led his West African nation as prime minister from 2009 to 2019, “will be built on the principles of unity in diversity.” He went on to say that throughout his presidency, maintaining peace and security will be “of paramount importance.”

“I will therefore urge the Assembly to intensify its determination to prioritize the resolution of conflicts, including the intractable conflicts in the Gaza Strip, Haiti and Ukraine, as well as to find lasting solutions to the situation in the Great Lakes region and elsewhere in Africa ,” Mr. Yang said.

The United Nations, which was established out of the ashes of World War II, has been encouraged by outgoing General Assembly President Dennis Francis to fulfil its goal of preserving world peace and security.

“It is no exaggeration to say that the scale of man-made human suffering that we are witnessing around the world is simply staggering ,” said the former diplomat and ambassador of Trinidad and Tobago , referring to Gaza and other conflicts.

However, Francis cautioned that “on our current trajectory, millions more will face poverty and hunger by 2030.” Millions of people today live in extreme poverty and despair.

The necessity of international cooperation was again emphasised by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.

He declared that the 78th session of the General Assembly, which came to a close on Tuesday morning, had been the warmest year on record in addition to being “a tumultuous year” characterised by ongoing poverty, inequality, injustice, division, violence, and conflict.

“But this session also ends at a time of growing hope and inspiration about what we can achieve if we work together ,” the UN chief said.

Tuesday afternoon, Mr. Guterres greeted diplomats at the opening of the 79th session of the Assembly, saying, “Step by step, solution by solution, we can rebuild trust and faith in each other and in what we can achieve through collaboration and solidarity.”

The Secretary-General called the Future Summit on September 22–23, which Mr. Yang will chair. The purpose of the summit is to encourage multilateral action on global issues and reform international organisations established after World War II, such as the United Nations.