The 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly concluded this past Monday, Sept. 29 at the UN Headquarters in New York City. This year’s theme for the UNGA80 was “Better together: 80 years and more for peace, development and human rights.” This theme can only be contrasted with the actions in recent weeks by the newly renamed Department of War, which, on Sept. 2 launched airstrikes off the coast of Venezuela killing 11 Venezuelans who Trump — with no evidence — alleged as “drug traffickers.” Since then, the U.S. has dispatched eight warships and a submarine to the southern Caribbean, and over the next few days struck three more vessels alleging, once again, that they were carrying illegal narcotics. At least six more people were killed in these strikes.
On Sept. 18, the U.S. vetoed, for the sixth time, a UN resolution calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. Meanwhile, they denied visas for 80 Palestinian officials, blocking them from attending the UN General Assembly, while hypocritically allowing war criminal Benjamin Netanyahu to enter the U.S. under an International Criminal Court arrest warrant. Colombian President Gustavo Petro had his U.S. visa revoked after speaking at a demonstration for Palestine outside of the UN headquarters, affirming his solidarity with the Palestinian people and telling U.S. soldiers “not to point their rifles at humanity. Disobey Trump’s order! Obey the order of humanity!”
It’s clear that the unilateral and coercive actions of the U.S. are demonstrating an increasing volatility and isolation. This is against the backdrop of countries who have submitted to the will of popular demands to cut off arms deals to Israel, support Palestinian statehood, and call for multilateral cooperation for any semblance of establishing peace and security for the Global South. Additionally, it is African countries that are putting forward the spirit of international cooperation, solidarity, and responsibility on the agenda at the UN General Assembly.
Alliance of Sahel States leads the Pan-African and anti-imperialist spirit
Ahead of the UN General Assembly, the Alliance of Sahel States (AES) announced its swift and sovereign withdrawal from the Rome Statute of the ICC last Monday. Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger were members of the ICC for over three decades, but their exit had come just months after establishing the Sahelian Criminal and Human Rights Court (CPS-DH). The AES communique from Sept. 22 states, “It has been observed that this jurisdiction has transformed into an instrument of neocolonial oppression in the hands of imperialism, thus becoming an example of selective Justice. In effect, the ICC has proven incapable of taking charge and judging war crimes, crimes against humanity, crimes of genocide, and crimes of aggression.” The newly formed CPS-DH will use mechanisms grounded in local realities of their countries without the negative influence of imperialist powers on the organization.
The speeches delivered by official delegates of the AES during the 80th session were nothing short of asserting the need for deep, structural reform within the UN Security Council. Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger shared unified points on the need to prioritize one of the world’s largest continents within a forum in which major decisions and resolutions decide the course of action in international affairs. It is worth noting how critical many African countries were of the defunct UN Security Council which often favors the U.S. and other Western European countries. Below are just some quotes highlighting this reality:
The 80th anniversary of the United Nations is akin to looking at an embarrassing fiasco, a collective disappointment and a structural failure…How can we understand the fact that Africa, the cradle of humanity and where there are so many conflicts, and which represents more than one billion human beings, remains excluded from the Security Council’s decision-making bodies? Peacekeeping missions, financed with billions of dollars, leave their countries with more frustration and suffering than tangible results. What is even worse is that this Council, whose role today is misused, is in fact a troublemaker, as a result of tacit, underhand and sometimes active complicity of some of its permanent members, who are themselves major actors and financiers of the crises of our time. – Prime Minister of Burkina Faso, Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo (Sept. 27, 2025)
[People of the Sahel] naturally support all initiatives which support international cooperation and solidarity so as to achieve our common objectives of peace, development, and the wellbeing for all. They oppose actions undermining peace and development. Therefore, Niger’s people unreservedly condemn the Israeli genocide in Gaza, as well as Israeli aggression against Iran and Qatar. They protest the trivialization of violence in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Sudan, and the Sahel, while the international community looks on indifferent. In fact, some international powers are complicit in what’s happening on the African continent.– Prime Minister of the Transitional Government of Niger, Lamine Zeine Ali Mahaman (Sept. 27, 2025)
Africa’s call to rectify historic exclusion from UN governing bodies
2025 marks the 20th anniversary since the Ezulwini Consensus and Sirte Declaration (est. 2005) were put forth as the Common African Position on the UN Security Council. It calls for Africa to have “not less than two permanent seats” and five non-permanent seats on the Security Council – it currently has no permanent seats and three non-permanent seats on the Council.
This year’s call to rectify the historical injustice of denying Africa, a continent of 1.5 billion people, of its permanent seats was a potent demand that not only came from the countries of the AES. Zimbabwe echoed fellow African countries stating, “Decisions on Africa cannot continue to be made without Africa at the table. We cannot go back to 1884 when Africa was on the menu.” The Minister for Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Zimbabwe, Amon Murwira, delivered his speech with a distinct reminder that Zimbabwe was born out of a protracted national liberation struggle. Therefore, Zimbabwe remains staunch in its firm solidarity with the people of Palestine and the Western Sahara. Murwira called on the international community to not only put Africa onto the agenda but to remove unilaterally imposed sanctions by the U.S. that have exacerbated crises within the country.
The common African position dominates UNGA80
What was undeniable across a majority of the attending African delegates was their unequivocal support for countries of the Global South. They urgently demanded an end to the deadly sanctions on Cuba, Venezuela, Eritrea and Zimbabwe. Several African countries continued to condemn the genocide in Gaza and affirmed the banner of a free Palestine. Echoing the halls of the UN headquarters were the desires for a completely transformed international political and economic governing body that in principle, followed the declaration of genuine multilateral cooperation, peace, and security across the globe. Countries like Angola, Mozambique, Senegal, and Namibia raised the alarm and necessity to rapidly hold accountable the countries of the Global North, who are responsible for the climate catastrophe yet the burden is disproportionately placed on Africa as a whole. Technological and environmental solutions were further emphasized as tasks that Africa would need to lead the charge on with support from international institutions to address.
The plight of African countries is widely known and accepted as a long historical result of the exploitation and domination of Western European and US markets, IMF and World Bank debt traps, and imposed military personnel on the continent. Despite that, the formation of the AES and the demand of African nations to remain sovereign while at the head of contributing to a new global order sends a clear message:
“Africa’s development concerns should be taken seriously — it is the continent of the future.” – Abdoulaye Maïga, Mali’s Prime Minister and Minister of Territorial Administration and Decentralization (Sept. 26, 2025)
The commitment to a Pan-African spirit and humanism are the contours shaping the fight for Africa’s future. In a global political period mired by rising debt, inequality, worsening poverty, and the U.S. war drive, the human aspirations for the continent can be broadly understood by Eritrea’s five universal goals for humanity:
- Fair ownership of resources
- Peace and stability
- Justice and fairness
- Mutual respect
- Strong legal and institutional frameworks
Forward ever, backward never!
Feature image: Prime Minister of Burkina Faso Rimtalba Jean Emmanuel Ouedraogo addresses the general debate of the General Assembly’s eightieth session. Credit: UN Photo/Loey Felipe
