Vice President Retired General Dr Constantino Chiwenga has added his voice to calls for more representation of African countries in the United Nations Security Council through a new publication set to be launched soon.
The Vice President brings in a wealth of knowledge through his forthcoming publication titled, “Goose or Gander – The United Nations Security Council and the Ethic of Double Standards”, which reiterates the need for global south scholars to question the status quo and the ideological construct which has facilitated the continued exploitation of the developing world.
In the soon-to-be-published book, Dr Chiwenga challenges the uneven order within the global system which on many instances has facilitated the structural marginalisation of the south.
The publication is important considering that its authorship can be traced to a time when Zimbabwe has been on the syringes of global colonial onslaught in which the writer has been an insider in challenging colonial hegemony on the political front.
It is therefore refreshing that courtesy of the knowledge democratisation space of the 2nd Republic under His Excellency President Emmerson Mnangagwa, Vice President Chiwenga is now challenging the hegemony on the intellectual front.
“You will remember what happened in July 2008, when the United Nations Security Council proposed to have a resolution on Zimbabwe under Chapter 7, and we had not committed a crime, our crime was to take our land back. This is why over 50 000 perished. It was a national grievance.
“And when that land was now taken, we were to be caught on sanctions. But before that, you are aware of the major principle that every nation on this planet earth, joins the united nations, nut the underpinning principle is the issue of sovereignty, that big or small, you will remain a sovereign state. But in reality does this happen? It doesn’t. What actually rules the day are the interests of the victors of the World War,” explained the Vice President.
He said equality and democracy means the views of the most powerful and the weakest should all be counted in global politics.
Questioned about Operation Restore Legacy, Vice President Chiwenga was unequivocal in stating that the story should be told by active participants and not those with a sinister agenda.
“There is a project on the compilation of what transpired… history will tell you exactly how that happened, but Parliament did its part, all the Zimbabweans were very cooperative, they played their role, but more importantly the ruling party was the entre pivot to see this New Dispensation in office,” he said.
With this contribution to the body of knowledge by one of Zimbabwe’s decorated state craft actors, the academia should be rejuvenated to generate knowledge that is relevant to the Zimbabwean context.
Africa is still not a permanent member of the UN Security Council despite the continent’s issues of peace and security dominating the agenda of the global political economy.
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