The Institute for Justice and Reconciliation (IJR), together with Amani Africa Media and Research Services, Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung -African Union, African Union Nett4Peace and the Tana Forum, convened a policy and expert roundtable in Bahir Dar, Ethiopia, on 23 October 2026, focused on strengthening Africa’s agency in reforming the global multilateral system.

Held as a side event of the 12^th Tana High-Level Forum on Security in Africa, the roundtable, titled “African Agency at a Time of Global Disorder: Mobilising Support for Article 109 on United Nations Charter Review,” brought together policymakers, academics, analysts and practitioners to consider how African countries could collectively advocate for a more equitable and representative international system.

The roundtable featured Prof. PLO Lumumba, Member of the Tana Forum Board; Dr Yonas Adaye Adeto, Commissioner of the Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission; Dr Solomon Dersso, Founding Director of Amani Africa Media and Research Services; and Elise Nalbandian, Regional Advisor for the African Union and Regional Economic Communities at the Centre for Civilians in Conflict. IJR Senior Advisor Prof. Tim Murithi moderated the discussion.

The discussion took place against a backdrop of intensifying global geopolitical competition, ongoing conflicts across Africa and beyond, and growing concerns about the capacity of existing multilateral institutions to respond effectively to contemporary peace, security, economic and environmental challenges.

Central to the conversation was Article 109 of the United Nations Charter, which provides for the convening of a General Conference of UN member states to review the Charter.

Participants considered how invoking Article 109 could provide an opportunity for Africa to help shape more fundamental reforms of the multilateral system and strengthen its influence over institutions and decisions that directly affect the continent.

The roundtable situated contemporary debates about multilateral reform within Africa’s historical experience.

When the UN Charter was drafted in San Francisco in 1945, much of the African continent remained under European colonial rule, with only a small number of African states independent at the time. Africa was therefore inadequately represented in the negotiations that established the foundations of the contemporary international system.

For IJR, this historical exclusion raised important questions of justice, representation and restitution, particularly as African countries continued to call for greater participation in global decision-making.

The discussion also reflected the African Union’s longstanding advocacy for reform of the United Nations Security Council and the broader continental ambition, articulated through Agenda 2063, for Africa to become a strong and influential global actor.

Participants explored how the continent could move beyond demanding representation within existing structures towards exercising greater agency in reshaping those structures.

A key focus of the side event was identifying practical strategies for mobilising a coalition of African countries capable of advancing reform collectively, while building alliances with countries and regions that share similar concerns about the existing international system.

Among the approaches considered was the possibility of mobilising governments around a UN General Assembly resolution invoking Article 109 and convening a conference to review the UN Charter.

The discussion extended beyond reform of the UN Security Council. It also considered the broader international architecture governing peace, development and economic relations, including institutions such as the International Monetary Fund, World Bank and World Trade Organisation.

For Africa, participants underscored that reform of global governance was closely connected to questions of economic sovereignty, peace and the continent’s ability to determine its own development trajectory.

By bringing together policy and expert perspectives, the side event sought to move the debate from recognising the shortcomings of the existing international order towards identifying concrete ways in which African governments and societies could collectively influence its transformation.