Africa has the right to a permanent seat in the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) with veto power to compensate for previous injustices, irrespective of whether this council is expanded or not, the Libyan leader, Moammar Gadhafi, affirmed here.
In a speech to mark the sixth anniversary of the African Union Declaration in Sirte, central Libya, Gadhafi noted that, apart from Africa, all the continents were represented by a country with veto power in the Security Council.
"We have the right to a permanent seat because we were under- represented in the past," Gadhafi said, stressing that Europe as well as Asia have two permanent seats each, if Russia is considered to be part of this continent, while America also has its own permanent seat.
Meanwhile, the Libyan leader urged African leaders to hold consultations, adopt a common position and clearly speak about about the Security Council during the coming one year.
Turning to African leaders who will attend the forthcoming UN summit in New York, the Libyan leader urged them to show determination because they represent an entity that nobody should ignore today`s world.
Gadhafi reiterated that a quarter of the United Nations is composed of African countries without which it is impossible to discuss world affairs.
"We must go to the United Nations to impose our rights because Africa deserves a permanent seat to compensate the injustice of the past," the Libyan leader insisted.
He stressed that today`s United Nations are not the same as the United Nations of 60 years ago when the world body was composed of four countries that formed an alliance against Germany.
Out of the 191 United Nations member states, a quarter of them are Africa, the Libyan leader pointed out.
