Finland Backs Africa’s Permanent Seat on UN Security Council as Envoy Deepens Nigeria Ties at NIIA Forum in Lagos
Finland has thrown its support behind Africa’s demand for permanent representation on the United Nations Security Council. Finland’s Ambassador to Nigeria, Sanna Selin, made the position clear at the Ambassador’s Forum on Nigeria-Finland Relations, organised by the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) in Lagos on Tuesday. The Finnish backing for an Africa permanent seat on the UNSC adds to a growing list of countries supporting reform.
The forum was aimed at deepening understanding of Finland and of the relationship between the two countries. Selin said Finland had joined others in demanding that Africa be duly represented on the Council and offered its full support for the cause. The NIIA’s Director-General, Professor Eghosa Osaghae, said Nigeria and Finland have long enjoyed beneficial relations, particularly in education, trade and the digital economy.
Selin also spoke about Finland’s approach to Nigeria. She acknowledged that the competition for Nigeria’s attention is fierce because many countries are trying to win it. One of her goals as ambassador, she said, is to bring the two countries closer together and help harness the potential she sees in Nigeria. Finland’s aim, she stressed, is to share experience rather than tell Nigerians what to do, since they know what is best for their country.
A memorandum of understanding on the digital economy, signed between the two countries earlier this year, was highlighted at the event. It is expected to support Nigeria’s work on digital governance, digitalisation, artificial intelligence and technological development.
The statement matches Finland’s wider policy. Last week at the UN General Assembly in New York, President Alexander Stubb set out Helsinki’s proposals for Security Council reform as Finland launched its bid for a non-permanent seat for 2029-2030. He called for at least two additional seats for Africa, two for Asia and one for Latin America, and proposed ending veto rights and temporarily suspending the voting rights of Council members that violate the UN Charter. Stubb had made similar calls in 2024, warning that countries of the Global South could turn away from the United Nations if they do not get agency in the system.
Africa’s demand is long-standing. The 54 African states form the largest regional bloc at the UN, yet the continent has no permanent seat on the 15-member Council, where the United States, Russia, France, the United Kingdom and China hold vetoes. The African Union’s common position, the Ezulwini Consensus of 2005, calls for two permanent seats and additional non-permanent seats. At this year’s General Assembly, African leaders again pressed the case. Kenyan President William Ruto told delegates that the equality proclaimed in the Assembly ends at the doors of the Security Council. In 2024, the United States said it would support two new permanent seats for African countries.
Expressions of support have not yet produced change. Reforming the Council requires amending the UN Charter, which needs approval from two-thirds of member states, including all five permanent members. Disagreements over veto power, which countries should hold the seats and how to choose them have blocked progress for years.
For Nigeria, which has often been mentioned as a contender for a permanent African seat, Finland’s backing adds diplomatic weight, even though practical progress will depend on negotiations among the major powers.
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