The New Non-Aligned Movement? How the A3 Plus Is Quietly Rewiring Power Inside the UN Security Council
- Ahmed Fathi
- 14 minutes ago
- 4 min read
By Ahmed Fathi
UNHQ, New York: Based on the recently released Security Council Report (SCR) report on the rise of the A3, it is evident that the internal dynamics of the UN Security Council are shifting in ways few observers expected. The Council has long been a forum where entrenched hierarchies dominate, and geopolitical choreography follows familiar patterns. Yet SCR’s examination of the African members—the A3—reveals a subtle but consequential recalibration unfolding from the margins. It is Africa and its emerging Caribbean partners who are beginning to reshape the flow of influence inside the chamber. A3 Plus
A quiet recalibration of diplomatic influence is underway. Not loud, not ideological, not reminiscent of Cold War theatrics—but disciplined, coordinated, and unmistakably rooted in the Global South.
SCR documents it with precision, but experiencing it here at UN Headquarters, I can tell you: the A3 Plus behaves less like a loose cooperation framework and more like a new, modernized form of non-alignment—one built for a polarized world where great powers increasingly talk past each other.
A3 + Caribbean: A Coalition Formed by Reality, Not Romance
The SCR report makes one thing clear: the A3’s transformation did not spring from ambition alone. It was born out of necessity—most painfully illustrated by the 2011 Libya crisis, when the African Union’s diplomatic roadmap was pushed aside in favor of NATO’s intervention.
For African diplomats, Libya was a rude awakening. The message was simple: if Africa arrived at the Council divided, Africa would leave ignored.
SCR traces how this realization fueled the A3’s decade-long evolution into a cohesive political bloc. But the report also highlights the moment that took this transformation beyond regional alignment: the arrival of the Caribbean.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines joined the A3 in 2020. Guyana followed in 2024. And in that instant, the group subtly shifted from a continental voice to a cross-regional partnership with shared post-colonial instincts and political priorities.
As I reviewed SCR’s findings, it struck me how naturally this partnership fits the moment. Africa brings the numbers, the legitimacy, the continental weight. The Caribbean brings agility, clarity, and the moral authority of nations unafraid to speak plainly.
Together, they’ve issued unified positions on Haiti, Colombia, and thematic files that fall far outside Africa’s borders. This is not symbolism—it’s strategy.
SCR captures this as an emerging diplomatic axis inside the Council, and from my vantage point covering UN negotiations, I see the same thing: a new south-south coalition taking shape in the most powerful chamber of the UN.
Unity as Leverage: A Discipline the Council Did Not Expect
One of the most compelling elements of the SCR report is its tracking of the A3’s joint statements—a metric that reveals political discipline far beyond what Council watchers have come to expect from rotating members:
2019: 16
2020: 35
2021: 53
2022: 63
2023: 93
2024: 105
Numbers that tell a story: unity isn’t an aspiration anymore—it’s operational.
The A3 (and the A3 Plus) no longer take the floor individually unless strategic divergence requires it. They speak together. They vote together. They negotiate as a group. And as SCR puts it, their cohesion has “significantly shaped Council outcomes.”
Here at the UN, where every diplomat reads between every line, everyone has noticed.
A Negotiating Bloc with Teeth
In its detailed analysis, SCR notes something that may be the strongest indicator of this new non-aligned trend: the shift in how the P3 (France, the UK, and the US) engage the A3.
Historically, the P3 shared zero drafts only with China and Russia. Now, they share them with the A3 at the earliest stages.
That is not courtesy. That is recognition.
SCR identifies a growing pattern: on African files, penholders increasingly seek A3 buy-in before negotiations even begin. And the A3, for their part, are pushing for pen holding authority on all African dossiers.
This is not the old non-aligned movement—ideologically broad but strategically inconsistent. This is a smaller, smarter, sharper coalition that understands how power actually moves through the Council.
Not Neutral—Independent
What emerges from SCR’s report is a Global South bloc that is not seeking neutrality but agency.
The A3 Plus is not trying to sit out the rivalry between global powers. It is trying to position itself so that its voice cannot be sidelined when those powers clash.
This modern “non-alignment” is not the avoidance of conflict—it is the refusal to be instrumentalized.
It is Africa and the Caribbean telling the world: "We are not here to rubber-stamp your resolutions, fight your political battles, or validate your geopolitical narratives. We are here to represent our regions and shape the decisions that affect us.”
In the Council’s current state of paralysis, this is not only refreshing—it is necessary.
The Political Moment Ahead
SCR concludes that the A3 is “on the cusp of becoming an agenda-setter.” After examining the report, and watching A3 diplomacy unfold firsthand, I believe that assessment is accurate.
But the SCR also warns that this window of opportunity is fragile. To sustain momentum, the A3 Plus will need:
stronger strategic coordination with the African Union,
training and institutional memory for incoming A3 members,
continuity beyond two-year terms, and
a Caribbean seat willing to maintain the partnership.
With Trinidad and Tobago likely stepping in for 2027–2028, the architecture is already forming.
Whether history names it or not, a new movement is emerging inside the Security Council—one that is not non-aligned in ideology, but non-submissive in posture.
And if the SCR report has made anything clear, it’s this: Africa and the Caribbean are no longer content to be spoken for. They are, together, learning how to shape the room.