PRESIDENT Michael Sata says Africa should have permanent seats on the United Nations (UN) Security Council.

Addressing the High-Level meeting on the Rule of Law in the United Nations General Assembly Hall here, President Sata urged Africans to stand up and be counted.

"Since the League of Nations up to today, Africa is more of a spectator than a participant. We have no permanent members in the Security Council and yet we represent 54 members in this House.

"We cannot talk of rule of law when we are not respecting each other.

Therefore, all Africans must stand up and be counted. We must become permanent members of the Security Council," President Sata said.

The President said this in statement issued by First Secretary for Press and Public Relations at the Permanent Mission of the Republic of Zambia to the UN Chibaula Silwamba. The League of Nations was the fore-runner of the United Nations.

President Sata's statement was in line with the Committee of 10, commonly known as C10, which was an African Union (AU)-formation advocating for Africa to have two permanent seats on the UN Security Council with veto powers and extra two non-permanent seats to address the historical injustices that Africa suffered and to adhere to the geo-political realities of the modern times.

Zambia and Namibia are two countries that represent the Southern African Development Community (SADC) region on the C10.

Out of the 193 members of the UN, Africa has 54 states, making it the continent with the highest number of UN member states.

Currently, the UN Security Council is composed of five permanent members - China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States of America - and 10 non-permanent members of which only South Africa, Morocco and Togo are from Africa. The non-permanent seats are on a two-year regional rotational basis.

Meanwhile, World leaders and civil society representatives at the 67th United Nations General Assembly have reaffirmed their commitment to the rule of law as the foundation of equitable State relations.

The Declaration on the Rule of Law at the National and International Level was adopted at the start of the day-long meeting, where the Assembly reaffirmed that human rights, the rule of law and democracy were interlinked and mutually reinforcing, and that they belonged to the universal and indivisible core values and principles of the United Nations.

The leaders declared that the rule of law should be applied equally to all States and international organisations, including the United Nations.

All persons, institutions and entities should be accountable to just, fair and equitable laws, and entitled to equal protection before the law, without discrimination.

The delegates rededicated themselves to supporting efforts to uphold the sovereign equality of all States, to respect their territorial integrity and political independence to refrain from the threat or use of force in a manner inconsistent with the UN Charter.