Act two of the series "The Vision in 3 Acts": after peace through development, President Macky Sall sets out Pillar II of his vision, renewing multilateralism. The premise behind it fits in one sentence: a new world cannot be governed by old institutions.
Designed in 1945 for 51 nations, the Security Council now sits within an Organization of 193 Member States. Africa, home to 1.4 billion people, has held no permanent seat in 80 years. For President Macky Sall, this anomaly weakens the legitimacy of the Council's decisions and trust in the Organization as a whole.
To correct it, the vision advocates a "realistic and consensus-based" reform of the Security Council, with fairer representation for the world's regions, starting with Africa. It sets posturing aside and favours patient negotiation over declarations without follow-through, in order to bring Member States' positions closer.
Pillar II carries this renewal beyond the Council, to the international financial architecture. The IMF and the World Bank must respond better to the needs of developing countries, as must the mechanisms for sovereign debt treatment and climate finance. A renewed multilateralism also opens its doors to civil society, the private sector and youth, as full partners in solutions.
On this ground, President Macky Sall already has results to show. As Chairperson of the African Union in 2022, he led the advocacy for the AU's admission to the G20. Pursued with conviction and constancy until it had built a coalition, that advocacy succeeded in 2023, when an entire continental organisation took its seat at the table of the world's major economies.
"Trust is built through constancy, fairness and efficiency," says President Macky Sall. His career shows that reforms deemed impossible succeed when they are pursued with method. Final act of the series next week: a UN that works. Follow it on www.mackysall.net.