.LUNGU

By CHARITY MOONGA –
PRESIDENT Edgar Lungu will this week be among Heads of State and Government who will be attending the summit of the Committee of Ten (C-10) on the United Nations Security Council Reforms to be held in Livingstone.
Foreign Affairs Minister Harry Kalaba said the summit which will take place from May 7 to 9, 2015 would be preceded by a ministerial meeting to be attended by ambassadors and permanent representatives from Addis Ababa and New York.
Among the Heads of State that had confirmed attendance of the meeting by yesterday were Namibian and Sierra Leone Presidents, Hage Geingob and Ernest Bai Koroma respectively.
The mandate of the C-10 is to pursue Africa’s common position, The Ezulwini Consensus, in the reform process of the United Nations Security Council.
The calls for the reforms were heightened at the 2005 World summit with demands for the Security Council to be more representative, inclusive, accountable and transparent in its decision making processes.
“Since then, negotiations have continued at a pace that has witnessed little progress as Africa continues to call for more equitable representation on the global body,” Mr Kalaba said.
The African Union summit of 2008 came up with the C-10 to spearhead the reform process on behalf of the African group.
This week’s summit to be held in Livingstone, would among other things discuss the progress made towards the realisation of Security Council reforms  with a view of advancing the common African position, means and ways of expediting the acceptance of the African position both within and beyond the continent.