Congo-Brazzaville Seeks UN Security Council Seat and Rainforest Payments
Congo-Brazzaville used the UN’s annual debate to renew its bid for a UN Security Council seat. It also asked the world to pay for its rainforest.
Foreign Minister Constant-Serge Bounda spoke for President Denis Sassou Nguesso in New York on Monday, 28 September, the debate’s final day. Congo-Brazzaville is the smaller neighbour of the Democratic Republic of Congo, across the Congo River from Kinshasa.
His list was unusually concrete: a Security Council seat, permanent African seats with veto power, debt relief and payment for forest conservation. According to the speech text, Africa’s demand for permanent seats is ‘not a claim but a right’.
Key Facts
- The country. The Republic of the Congo, or Congo-Brazzaville, is a Central African oil state of 6.5 million people. Its US$16 billion economy is less than half Iceland’s; oil provides 80 percent of exports.
- Why it matters. Congo holds part of the Congo Basin, the world’s second-largest tropical rainforest and a major carbon store. Denis Sassou Nguesso, 82, has ruled since 1979, bar 1992 to 1997.
- Why now. World leaders ended the UN General Assembly’s annual debate in New York on Monday, 28 September. Congo spoke on the final day, pressing claims on seats, debt and forests.
- What happened. On 28 September, Foreign Minister Constant-Serge Bounda renewed Congo’s bid for a non-permanent UN Security Council seat and asked the world to pay for forest conservation.
- The numbers. Public debt reached 97.4 percent of GDP in 2025, the World Bank says, far above the 70 percent ceiling of CEMAC, the Central African monetary union.
- What it means for you. From January 2027 all Africans are to enter Congo visa-free; Western visitors still need visas. Investors face a state in debt distress, with arrears to creditors.
- Still open. Congo seeks the 2030–2031 term, with the vote due in 2029; its backers are unclear. Creditors have not yet answered the call for debt cancellation.
A seat at the world’s top table
The Security Council has five permanent members with a veto: the US, UK, France, Russia and China. Ten more members are elected for two-year terms by a two-thirds vote of the General Assembly.
Bounda said Congo ‘renews its aspiration’ to serve as a non-permanent member. He cited its mediation record, including the 1988 Brazzaville Protocol that paved the way for Namibia’s independence.
He also pointed to mediation in the Central African Republic, Libya and Africa’s Great Lakes region. Congo chairs the African Union’s high-level committee on Libya.
Congo sits on the C10, the African Union’s ten-nation committee on Security Council reform. Bounda said it ‘will not compromise’ on the Ezulwini Consensus, Africa’s common position agreed in 2005.
That position asks for two permanent African seats with veto power and five non-permanent seats in all. ‘Africa is not asking for a favour; it is asking for its fair share,’ the speech said.
Money: debt relief and a price on the forest
Bounda said Africa’s development is held back by ‘the weight of debt’ and an unequal international financial system. Congo called for relief mechanisms and, ‘where circumstances justify it’, debt cancellation.
The appeal comes from a heavily indebted state. The World Bank puts Congo’s public debt at 97.4 percent of GDP in 2025, with arrears at home and abroad.
Between November 2025 and February 2026 the government sold three international bonds worth US$1.63 billion to refinance short-term debt. CEMAC, the six-country Central African monetary union that uses the CFA franc, sets a 70 percent debt ceiling.
On forests, the speech argued that countries preserving the Congo Basin should not carry the cost alone. ‘Conservation has a cost; international solidarity must also have a price,’ it said.
Congo asked for ‘fair and predictable’ payment for carbon and ecosystem services. It also wants more capital for the Blue Fund for the Congo Basin, a regional fund launched in 2017.
Bounda regretted that no UN body dedicated to the basin is based in Congo. He urged the official launch of a UN Decade for Afforestation and Reforestation for 2027 to 2036, an idea Congo has championed.
Sovereignty without choosing a camp
Congo described its foreign policy as non-aligned, with partners on all sides. It rejected outside interference in internal affairs.
The speech urged talks between Russia and Ukraine and de-escalation in the Strait of Hormuz, the Gulf oil shipping lane. It called for peace in Sudan, eastern DR Congo and Libya, and an end to the US embargo on Cuba.
At home, Bounda presented the government roadmap ‘Accelerating the march towards development’. It rests on special economic zones, local processing of raw materials and public-private partnerships.
He invited foreign investors in, on terms that create local value and transfer technology. The pitch covered oil and gas, critical minerals, agriculture and tourism.
Memory, diaspora and a memorial at Loango
Near Pointe-Noire, Congo is developing the Loango Bay Memorial to Africans shipped from that coast as slaves. It wants the site to rank with Gorée in Senegal, Cape Coast in Ghana and Ouidah in Benin.
Bounda pledged to involve the Congolese diaspora in national development. He also backed Brazzaville’s role as host of the World Health Organization’s regional office for Africa.
What this means for expats and investors
The most practical item for travellers is the visa pledge. Sassou Nguesso announced it in late May at the African Development Bank’s annual meetings in Brazzaville.
All African nationals are to enter without a visa from January 2027. The rule does not cover Americans, Britons or other Europeans, who still need a visa.
For investors, the core facts are oil dependence and debt. Oil provides about half of GDP and 80 percent of exports, according to the World Bank.
About half the population, 51.7 percent, lives below the World Bank’s US$3-a-day poverty line. That gap between oil wealth and living standards is the backdrop to Congo’s appeal for outside money.
What Is Not Known
The speech named no term, but in July Bounda asked African Union ministers to back Congo for 2030–2031, in a 2029 vote. It is still unclear which countries back the candidacy.
Creditors have not responded to the call for debt cancellation. No cost estimate was given for the Loango memorial, and no detail on how visa-free entry will work at borders.
Frequently Asked Questions
What did Congo-Brazzaville ask for at the UN?
On 28 September, Congo renewed its bid for a UN Security Council seat and backed two permanent African seats with veto power. It also sought debt relief and payment for protecting the Congo Basin rainforest.
Is Congo-Brazzaville the same country as DR Congo?
No, the Republic of the Congo, capital Brazzaville, has 6.5 million people. The far larger Democratic Republic of Congo, capital Kinshasa, lies across the Congo River.
How indebted is Congo-Brazzaville?
The World Bank puts 2025 public debt at 97.4 percent of GDP, far above the Central African monetary union’s 70 percent ceiling. It says the country remains in debt distress, with arrears on domestic and external debt.
What is the Congo Basin payment demand?
Congo argues that countries protecting the rainforest, a major global carbon store, should not bear the cost alone. It wants predictable payment for carbon and ecosystem services and more capital for the Blue Fund for the Congo Basin.
Sources
UN General Assembly — Statement of the Republic of the Congo, 81st session (28 September 2026, PDF, French) · UN General Assembly — Country page: Congo, 81st session · UN Meetings Coverage — General Assembly concludes high-level debate (28 September 2026) · Wikipedia — General debate of the 81st UN General Assembly, speaking schedule 28 September · World Bank — Republic of Congo overview (debt, poverty, oil, 2026 election) · World Bank Open Data — Congo, Rep. (population, GDP 2025)
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