The head of the Munich Security Conference (MSC), Christoph Heusgen, has called for a reform of the UN Security Council and for a stronger role for Africa.

African states are under-represented in the most powerful body of the United Nations, the seasoned foreign policy diplomat told dpa on Friday.

“It is high time that this changed,” Heusgen said.

Germany’s earlier demand for a permanent seat on the Security Council was outdated, he said, even though Germany, as the second largest donor, contributed to the UN system.

Heusgen was a foreign and security policy advisor to former chancellor Angela Merkel.

From 2017 to June 2021, he worked as his country’s permanent representative at the UN headquarters in New York.

He is now head of the MSC, one of the world’s most important security forums.

The 68-year-old called for the UN Security Council to be adapted to global developments since its last reform in the 1960s.

“That means taking greater account of Latin America, Asia, and, above all, Africa,” he said.

However, according to the UN Charter, the inclusion of blocs like the African Union or the European Union is not possible, as only individual countries can be members.

On Monday, the UN General Assembly begins in New York, where there will also be a Security Council meeting on Ukraine.

In addition to Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock, other German ministers will take part in the consultations.