The Secretary General of the United Nations (UN), António Guterres, congratulated Mozambique on its performance in the Security Council, pointing out that the country had a ‘magnificent’ participation in important debates not only for the African continent, but also for the whole world.
Speaking during a bilateral meeting with Pedro Comissário, Mozambique’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Guterres indicated that the prioritisation of the relationship between Africa and the United Nations at the top of the agenda of his work stems from his conviction that the African continent has been a victim of Western countries, particularly Europeans, due to colonialism and the legacy of decolonisation.
He argued that the decolonisation process was carried out unfairly, leaving the African continent hostage to the European continent and short of the resources necessary for its development.
‘This scenario was aggravated by the exclusion of African countries from the founding of the major international organisations formed before the period of African independence,’ he stressed.
Guterres also congratulated Pedro Comissário on his election as a member of the Assembly of the Republic, and pointed out that this was a highly important role, especially in terms of revitalising the relationship between the political system and the people.
For his part, Commissioner thanked the Secretary General for his words of congratulations and emphasised that he ‘has a lot of respect and consideration’ for Guterres, particularly for his contribution to strengthening the relationship between Africa and the United Nations.
On 9 June 2022, Mozambique was elected as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council for the period 2023 and 2024.
This body, created to maintain international peace and security in accordance with the principles of the United Nations, has five permanent members – the United States of America, Russia, France, the United Kingdom and China, and ten non-permanent members.
Every year, the General Assembly elects five out of a total of ten non-permanent members, who, according to a UN resolution, are distributed as follows: five Africans and Asians, one from Eastern Europe, two from Latin America and two from Western Europe, among other states.