FP Virtual Dialogue: Africa’s Path to Security & Peace

African Leadership & the UN Security Council

Foreign Policy, in partnership with Brand South Africa, convened a high-caliber panel to spotlight African leadership on the United Nations Security Council and assess progress toward shaping a more multilateral, representative and relevant global governance body.

Seeking a greater role and voice for Africa on the global stage, South Africa has dedicated its tenure on the Security Council for the 2019-2020 term to the legacy of President Nelson Mandela and his commitment to peace. The country has aimed to prioritize issues of conflict prevention, peacebuilding and security sector reform as well as to advocate for assistance and equity as the African continent confronts COVID-19. 

In conversation with Ambassador Jerry Matthews Matjila, South Africa’s Permanent Representative to the UN, and a panel of prominent journalists covering the U.N., we explored the objectives South Africa envisioned for its presidency of the Security Council, outcomes achieved, and the country’s strategic position in an increasingly polarized world. 

How is the relationship between the UN and the African Union evolving to support the AU’s Agenda 2063 and its Silencing the Guns campaign against violence and conflict? What is the impact of great power competition on South Africa’s national and regional priorities? And looking ahead, how might future relations between the United States, the UN and countries across the African continent be rebuilt to support the Sustainable Development Goals, multilateral approaches to global security and recovery post-COVID?

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Speakers

Ambassador Jerry Matthews Matjila

South Africa’s Permanent Representative to the UN
From 2011 until his latest appointment, Mr. Matjila was the Director-General (Permanent Secretary) of South Africa’s Department of International Relations and Cooperation.  H...
Ambassador JM Matjila photo
Ambassador JM Matjila photo

Sherwin Bryce-Pease

UN Bureau Chief: SABC News, South Africa
Sherwin has been with SABCNEWS since May 2002 and as Correspondent and Bureau Chief in New York since 2008. He has reported on the work of the UN extensively, particularly the S...
Sherwin Bryce-Pease
Sherwin Bryce-Pease

Colum Lynch

Senior Staff Writer, Foreign Policy
Colum Lynch is Foreign Policy’s award-winning, United Nations-based senior diplomatic reporter. He received the 2011 National Magazine Award for his blog reporting a...
Colum Lynch
Colum Lynch

Michelle Nichols

Bureau Chief, United Nations, Thomson Reuters
An award-winning correspondent who has worked in Australia, Britain, the United States, Africa and Asia over the past 21 years. Michelle has covered international diplomacy and ...
Michelle Nichols
Michelle Nichols

Amanda Price

Senior Producer, UN Bureau, Al Jazeera English
Amanda Price is a senior producer for Al Jazeera English at the channel’s United Nations bureau, where she covers diplomacy and foreign affairs...
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IMG_7281 (1)