International Conference Center, Algiers, Algeria | December 2, 2025: Excellencies ladies and gentlemen: Thank you for giving me the floor to deliver these remarks on behalf of Her Excellency Madam Sara Beysolow Nyanti, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Liberia,

who could not attend this meeting due to other national engagements of equal importance. Her Excellency extends her greetings and apologies; and looks forward to the outcome of this High-Level Seminar.

I would like to thank the Government and People of the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria for the kind hospitality and courtesies accorded me and my delegation since our arrival in this brotherly country.

Liberia appreciates the African Union Peace and Security Council for inviting us to this very important meeting as we prepare to fully assume our role as a Non-permanent Member of the UN Security Council as an A3 member state, for the term 2026-27. We are grateful to all friendly states that supported our campaign and still continue to consult and collaborate with us on this journey - especially those who have shared their invaluable lessons and experiences with us.

We have heard very profound analyses and insightful proposals from the panelists on the themes of coordination and strengthening of A3 and Africa's position in the UNSC as well as great ideas on advancing stronger proposals for UNSC reforms. I would like to thank the panelists for their analytical inputs. 

Excellencies, 

We are in an era of increasing insecurity as violent conflicts with devastating humanitarian implications continue to undermine peace, development and progress in Africa and other parts of the World. 

The failure of the international community  to resolve these conflicts, have brought to serious scrutiny the credibility and competency of existing international mechanisms, such as the UNSC and our own regional mechanisms, to resolve conflicts and promote peace and stability. 

It is therefore high time that Africa mobilised efforts and led the campaign to restore and reinforce confidence in the international political system. Indeed, the A3 and its affiliates such as the AUPSC provides a unique platform to mobilize, collate and advance Aferica’s aspiration for a more progressive and democratic United Nations, capable of fulfilling its founding mandate of ‘maintaining peace and security’. As an incoming A3 member, Liberia stands ready to join other AU members to advocate for, and take the required actions, for a more robust international order under the leadership of the United Nations.

Excellencies, 

We are in a region that is currently experiencing increasing insecurity, driven by armed conflicts, terrorism, political instability and national disasters.

Five ECOWAS member states have experienced unconstitutional change of governments in the last five years, with Guinea Bissau being the latest on November 26. These incidents  have exacerbated existing situations of fragility and political instability and undermine existing regional efforts against terrorism in the region, especially the Sahel region.

As a result, coastal states like Liberia are now at the receiving-end of refugees from these countries — a situation that is overstretching our capacity to deliver basic social services in host communities.

The exit of Mali, Burkina Faso, and Niger from ECOWAS poses serious challenges to our regional response  mechanism as these states are frontier states whose cooperation with ECOWAS has been crucial to the fight against terrorism in the region. We therefore call on the AU and friendly organizations to support us in our efforts to strengthen ECOWAS and keep it cohesive as the enviable and effective regional organization it once was.  

Excellencies, as an elected  member of the UNSC for the period 2026-2027, Liberia has centered regional peace and security as a key pillar of our Security Council agenda. We intend to champion the issues of Youth and Women Peace and Security given the vulnerability of these demographics in conflict situations. To demonstrate our commitment to this we presented this before the UN Peacebuilding Commission Liberia Configuration as a priority area for peacebuilding interventions in Liberia; and we have recently adopted a National Action Plan on Youth Peace and Security and are currently developing the third generation National Action Plan on Women Peace and Security. 

Second, as a historic champion of women's rights, we will leverage the UNSC to continue our campaign for gender equality and women empowerment.   And third, we also intend to contribute to the ongoing campaign for the UN Security Council, a campaign we  started 54 years ago when in 1970 we demanded a reform of the veto powers at the UNSC.

We commend Sierra Leone for its recent leadership on this very important issue during their presidency of the UNSC in August 2024. We implore other members of the UNSC, particularly A3+ countries, to keep this issue alive on the agenda of the Council until the desired results are achieved. 

Excellencies, with over 80% of resolutions of the UNSC focusing specifically on African countries, we believe the campaign for reforming the Council to make it more inclusive, representative and effective, is Africa's own to lead and ensure it is implemented. 

This is why we value our participation in this forum which provides a platform for experience-sharing, learning lessons, and building synergies around Africa's agenda for peace and security and reforms at the UN Security Council and other multilateral forums. Liberia, therefore, looks forward to working with other A3 members and the AU PSC in strengthening Africa's positions and initiatives that advance the agenda for conflict resolution and sustainable development as laid out in the Global SDGs and the Africa Agenda 2063. 

Excellencies, 

To facilitate a seamless institutional framework for synergy and  coordination between the A3 and AUPSC, Liberia recommends a reform of the composition of the AUPSC to provide for automatic membership of AU members elected to the UNSC. We believe that having member states serve concurrently on the two councils is a surefire way of ensuring the same sets of priorities and issues are presented  and advocated for at both councils. We therefore call for an amendment to Article 5 of the Protocol Relating to the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union to incorporate this recommendation. 

Excellencies, 

Ahead of this much needed reform, Liberia has submitted its candidature for election to the AU PSC. As stated above, we believe our concurrent tenure in the UNSC and the AUPSC will offer a strategic opportunity to facilitate synergy in the spirit of African unity and solidarity.  We would therefore be honored by your support for our candidacy during the February 2026 elections for AUPSC members. 

Excellencies, to pursue our priorities and to work more effectively with other A3+ members at the UNSC, we have strengthened our capacities at our Permanent Missions in New York and Addis Ababa as well as at the home office in Monrovia; and have designed a mechanism for effective communication and triangular consultations between the three offices. 

Furthermore, we have had bilateral consultations with AU member states, including immediate past members of the UNSC and AUPSC during which we discussed shared priorities and we look forward to more of such consultations in the interest of Peace and Security in Africa and the world at large. 

I thank you for your kind attention.