L-R: H.E. Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi, Immediate Past President of Botswana; Erelu Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, Chairperson, Governing Board & Co-Founder, Amandla Institute for Policy and Leadership Advancement; H.E. Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations; and Dr Kayode Fayemi, Founder, Amandla Institute, at the special cocktail reception held in honour of the Deputy Secretary-General during the Institute's UNGA81 side event, "Africa's Expectations of the New UN Secretary-General," at The Westin, Times Square, New York, on 19 September 2026.
The Amandla Institute for Policy and Leadership Advancement
hosted a high-level side event on the margins of the 81st Session of the United
Nations General Assembly, convening African and international leaders to
examine the continent's expectations of the incoming UN Secretary-General ahead
of this year's Security Council succession vote.
Held at The Westin, Times Square,
under the theme "Africa’s Expectations of the New UN Secretary-General:
Africa, Multilateralism and the Future of Global Governance," the event
marked the Institute’s second high-level convening on the sidelines of the UN
General Assembly.
Welcoming guests on behalf of the
Institute, Founder Dr Kayode Fayemi said the question of who leads the UN next
was, in his words, "a window into Africa’s expectations of the
international system itself, its institutions, its priorities, its distribution
of power, and its capacity to respond to a world that has changed profoundly
since the United Nations was established." He urged African states to
move beyond the "familiar language of marginalisation" and approach
the international system "as a critical stakeholder, with interests to
defend, responsibilities to discharge, ideas to contribute and institutions to
reform."
H.E. Dr Mokgweetsi Masisi, Immediate
Past President of Botswana, delivered the keynote address. A panel discussion
followed, moderated by Professor Adebayo Olukoshi, President/Chief Executive of
the Amandla Institute, and featuring H.E. Madam Sara Beysolow Nyanti, Minister
of Foreign Affairs of Liberia; H.E. Ambassador Selma Malika Haddadi, Deputy
Chairperson of the African Union Commission; H.E. Dr Monde Muyangwa, former
Assistant Administrator for Africa at USAID; Professor Ebenezer Obadare of the
Council on Foreign Relations; and Pa Bakary Sonko, AU Youth Peace Ambassador
for 2026. Discussions centred on Security Council reform, the UN-AU peace and
security partnership, reparations and restitution, illicit financial flows, and
mineral beneficiation on the continent.
The programme closed with a vote of
thanks from Erelu Bisi Adeleye-Fayemi, Chairperson of the Governing Board and
Co-Founder of the Institute, followed by a special cocktail reception in honour
of H.E. Amina J. Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations,
where the Institute presented her with a special appreciation award for her
service to multilateralism and to Africa's place within it.
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