UN HQ, Manhattan, New York, United States | October 14, 2025: Following its election by the General Assembly in June to the Security Council for a two-year term as a non-permanent member, the Republic of Liberia has formally commenced its observation of the Council as part of the procedure leading to the assumption of the seat in January 2026.
The observation period, which began on October 1, 2025, gives Liberia the opportunity to attend open sessions and closed consultations of the Security Council in order for Liberian diplomats and experts to gain invaluable, real-time insight into the Council's working methods, procedural dynamics, and the substantive debates on pressing global peace and security issues. Experts, staff and foreign service officers of the Permanent Mission of Liberia to the United Nations in New York are undergoing intensive Security Council training during this period.
Liberia was overwhelmingly elected by the UN General Assembly on June 3, 2025 to occupy one of 3 non-permanent seats reserved for Africa (A3) on the Security Council for a term which will run from January 2026 to December 2027. According to His Excellency Ambassador Lewis G. Brown II, Permanent Representative of Liberia to the United Nations, the tenure will be a pedestal upon which Liberia will showcase and utilize its lived experience as a post-conflict nation to contribute to the attainment of global peace and security. In ongoing consultative meetings with former, current and incoming elected members as well as with permanent members of the Security Council, Amb. Brown has repeatedly stated that this observation period will also be used to communicate, reiterate and refine Liberia’s positions and principles that will guide its decisions, positions and actions on a raft of issues at both the General Assembly and the Security Council.
In addition to implicit pledge to uphold and continue the fundamental advocacies of the African Group, the A3+ and the Common African Position, Liberia campaigned on promises to prioritize Conflict Prevention and Peacebuilding; Women, Peace, and Security; Youth, Peace and Security: Climate Security and Climate Justice; and strengthening Global Governance through the renewal of multilateralism.
These principles are being elevated and tested in dry-run scenarios as the Liberia Permanent Mission observes the United Nations Security Council.
Despite being one of just two African countries that signed the original charter of the United Nations, Liberia has only served once on the Security Council–1961. Formally assuming its non-permanent seat on January 1, 2026 will mark a historic moment and symbolize a remarkable journey from a recipient of UN peacekeeping support to a key contributor in the world's primary body for maintaining international peace and security.
