UN chief renews push for global reforms, says Africa still faces historic injustice

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has renewed calls for deep reforms in global institutions, saying Africa continues to face long-standing injustice because key bodies were created in 1945 without the continent’s participation in decision-making.

Speaking in Nairobi on Monday during the inauguration of the United Nations Nairobi Expansion Project in Gigiri, Guterres said the current global system still does not reflect Africa’s rising political and economic weight, despite its growing influence on world affairs.

President William Ruto joined State and UN officials at the event, where the expansion of the UN presence in Nairobi was officially launched.

Guterres said the structure of global governance remains unfair to Africa, especially in major financial and security institutions that continue to shape international decisions.

“There will be no justice before there will be permanent African members in the Security Council, and there will be no justice before Africa has its right share in the quotas of the IMF, or in the capital of the World Bank,” Guterres said.

https://twitter.com/RadioGenKe/status/2053788107107910120

He added that Africa’s experience was shaped by a painful past, arguing that colonial systems were designed in a way that continues to affect development patterns today.

“The infrastructure that had been built was not to connect the Africans among themselves, was not to develop the African economy. It was to allow for the extraction of African resources to the benefit of developed countries,” he said.

At the same time, he noted that Africa is undergoing major change, pointing to stronger local innovation, improved governance efforts, and increased efforts by governments to raise their own development resources.

Guterres said the continent is now pushing more firmly for fairness in global systems and equal treatment in international financial structures.

“It is not acceptable that African countries pay more than three times more than developed countries in order to obtain the loans they need for development,” he said, describing the situation as “deeply unfair” and “absolutely unacceptable.”

He also praised Kenya for hosting the largest United Nations campus in the world and thanked the government for supporting the expansion of UN operations in Africa.

“And the African continent can count on me. I will always be at your side to correct injustices,” Guterres said.

His remarks come at a time when African leaders continue to demand reforms in global institutions created after the Second World War, arguing that the current structure no longer matches today’s global realities.

Ruto has repeatedly pushed for permanent African representation at the UN Security Council, saying the current arrangement leaves out a large part of the world.

Speaking at the 7th Summit of the Committee of Ten Heads of State and Government on UN Security Council Reform in New York in September 2025, Ruto said Africa’s exclusion was “unacceptable, unfair and grossly unjust.”

“You cannot claim to be the United Nations while disregarding the voice of 54 nations. It is not possible,” Ruto said during the meeting, where he called for at least two permanent seats with veto powers for Africa.