United Nations Security Council
Scholar Sudhir Chella Rajan argued in 2006 that the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council, who are all nuclear powers, have created an exclusive nuclear club that predominately addresses the strategic interests and political motives of the permanent members—for example, protecting the oil-rich Kuwaitis in 1991 but poorly protecting resource-poor Rwandans in 1994. Since three of the five permanent members are also European, and four are predominantly white Western nations, the Security Council has been described as a pillar of global apartheid by Titus Alexander, former Chair of Westminster United Nations Association.
Reform of the United Nations Security Council
Currently, no country in Africa has a permanent seat on the Security Council. Although no one nation from Africa has formally been put forward as a candidate for membership on the Security Council, Algeria, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Nigeria, and South Africa are seen as the strongest choices. Algeria has gained a great deal of respect for its neutrality over the years and its great commitment to African development; Egypt has the second-largest economy in Africa and the biggest military on the continent, was one of the founding members of the United Nations, enjoys great influence in Africa and in the Arab world, and hosts the headquarters of the Arab League; Ethiopia was also one of the founding members of the United Nations and holds the seat of the African Union Commission; South Africa has the third-largest economy on the continent; and Nigeria is the most populous country in Africa, has the continent's largest economy, and is one of the largest contributors of military and civilian personnel to UN peacekeeping missions.