The Group of African States, or African Group, is one of the five United Nations regional groups and is composed of 54 Member States from the African continent. The African Group is the largest regional group, and compose 28% of all United Nations members.
The Group, as with all the regional groups, is a non-binding dialogue group where subjects concerning regional and international matters are discussed. Additionally, the Group works to help allocates seats on United Nations bodies by nominating candidates from the region.
Role The Group, as with all the regional groups, plays a major role in promoting the region's interests. It provides a forum for Member States to exchange opinions on international issues, carry out follow-up on the topics that are being discussed in international organisations, build common positions on complex issues and prepare statements reflecting the joint position of the Group.
However, most importantly, the Group allows for the discussion and coordination of support for candidates for different United Nations organisations from the region.
Member States The following are the Member States of the African Group:
Representation Security Council The African Group currently holds three seats on the Security Council, all non-permanent. The current members of the Security Council from the Group are:
Country Term1 January 2025 — 31 December 2026 1 January 2024 — 31 December 2025
Economic and Social Council The African Group currently holds 14 seats on the United Nations Economic and Social Council. The current members of the Economic and Social Council from the Group are: Country Term
1 January 2025 — 31 December 2027 1 January 2024 – 31 December 2026 1 January 2023 — 31 December 2025
Human Rights Council The African Group currently holds 13 seats on the United Nations Human Rights Council. The current members of the Human Rights Council from the Group are: Country Term
1 January 2025 — 31 December 2027 1 January 2024 — 31 December 2026 1 January 2023 — 31 December 2025
Presidency of the General Assembly Every five years, in the years ending in 4 and 9, the African Group is eligible to elect a president to the General Assembly.
The following is a list of presidents from the Group since its official creation in 1963: Year Elected Session Name of President Country Note 1964 19th Alex Quaison-Sackey 1969 24th Angie E. Brooks 1974 29th Abdelaziz Bouteflika 1979 34th Salim A. Salim Also chaired the 6th and 7th emergency special, and 11th special sessions of the General Assembly 1984 39th Paul J. F. Lusaka 1989 44th Joseph Nanven Garba Also chaired 16th, 17th and 18th special sessions of the General Assembly 1994 49th Amara Essy 1999 54th Theo-Ben Gurirab Also chaired the 22nd, 23rd and 24th special sessions of the General Assembly 2004 59th Jean Ping 2009 64th Ali Abdussalam Treki Also chaired the 29th special session of the General Assembly 2014 69th Sam Kahamba Kutesa 2019 74th Tijjani Muhammad-Bande 2024 79th Philémon Yang Future 2029 84th TBA TBA 2034 89th TBA TBA
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