Kenya backs the resolution reached by the African Union leaders in Addis Ababa to seek two permanent veto-wielding seats on an enlarged UN Security Council as part of broader reform of the UN body, a senior government official said Friday.

Kenya's Foreign Affairs Minister Chirau Ali Mwakwere said Africa deserved permanent seats because of its bigger membership at the UN General Assembly.

"The UN Security Council as it is now is totally undemocratic. Almost a third of the UN member states are from African countries hence the need for more seats," Mwakwere, who had just arrived from Ethiopia, told a news conference in Nairobi.

An extraordinary summit convened by the AU in the Ethiopian capital Thursday decided to retain the position African leaders had endorsed at the AU summit held early last month in Sirte, Libya, that proposes to increase membership of the Security Council seats from 15 to 26.

The proposal seeks two out of six new permanent seats with veto rights and one more rotating seat for Africa.

The outcome of the summit had been eagerly awaited by the so- called G4 which has been lobbying furiously for AU backing for its proposal to enlarge the council to 25 members, with six new permanent seats without veto power and four non-permanent seats.

The Kenyan foreign minister said majority of the AU leaders who attended the meeting said they would not accept UN reforms that did not expand the number of seats capable of vetoing resolutions brought before the council.

"Majority of the AU states demanded seats with veto powers because we want to be at the same level with other countries in the world. Most of the issues being discussed at the Council are related to Africans and hence our demand for more seats," the minister said.

He said the summit established a 10-member heads of state committee, with the task of lobbying the UN in support of the African proposal in time for September vote by the 191 members of the UN General Assembly.

Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa are the leading candidates for the seats, but a number of other states -- including Angola, Kenya and Algeria -- are far from happy about being relegated to the second division.

But Mwakwere expressed optimism Kenya would secure one of two new permanent seats at the enlarged UN.

He said Kenya's key role in the regional peace making initiatives and the nation's qualifications as being the sixth of all countries that contribute peacekeepers to missions across the world will give it an edge over opponents.

Mwakwere said Kenya should be a veto-wielding member of the Council because of its work in sealing a deal to end Sudan's 21- year north-south civil war, Africa's longest running conflict, and its successful peace efforts in neighboring lawless Somalia.

He said the east African nation has not been lobbying furiously because the UN Charter has not been reformed.

"Until the Charter is reformed, it's too early to lobby and what other countries are doing, is to declare their interest. We are hoping that the job would be created," the minister said.

Source: Xinhua