Monrovia – Because the United Nations Basic Meeting prepares to vote on June 3, Liberia’s bid for a non-permanent seat on the UN Safety Council (UNSC) has garnered unprecedented bipartisan and nationwide assist.
By Selma Lomax [email protected]
In a uncommon present of unity, political actors from throughout the divide — ruling and opposition — civil society establishments, and peculiar Liberians have rallied behind the marketing campaign.
The vote, scheduled for June 3 throughout the 79th session of the UN Basic Meeting in New York, is predicted to return Liberia to the Safety Council for the primary time since 1961, when it briefly held a one-year time period in a compromise association with Eire. This time, Liberia is poised to serve a full time period, representing West Africa in one of many world’s strongest decision-making our bodies.
The nation’s candidacy, backed by the African Union (AU), was formally endorsed on the forty fourth Unusual Session of the AU Government Council in February 2024. Liberia is operating unopposed for the West African seat, changing Sierra Leone and persevering with the area’s illustration on the 15-member Council.
President Joseph Boakai has personally championed the marketing campaign as a cornerstone of Liberia’s reemergence on the worldwide diplomatic stage. On the forefront of the lobbying efforts is International Minister Sara Beysolow Nyanti, whose management has earned large reward each domestically and internationally.
Minister Nyanti has led high-level delegations to a number of world capitals and multilateral boards, advocating for Liberia’s return to the Council and underscoring the nation’s post-war transformation.
“It is a second of immense pleasure for Liberia,” Minister Nyanti stated in a latest briefing. “Our marketing campaign is grounded within the rules of peace, cooperation, and world solidarity. Liberia has a narrative to inform, and now we now have the chance to inform it on the highest degree.”
Leymah Gbowee, 2011 Nobel Peace Laureate, expressed her assist for Liberia’s bid for a non-permanent seat on the UN Safety Council.
She acknowledged, “I imagine that after fourteen years of devastating civil battle, a peace course of that concerned everybody — particularly pushed by girls — twenty-one years of stability, and several other election cycles marked by peaceable transitions, Liberia is uniquely positioned to lend her experience to the UN Safety Council, particularly at a time when the world is deeply divided and polarized. It’s my hope and prayer that our bid might be granted in order that Liberia can be part of different nations in bringing the world nearer to peace.”
Additionally, Gbehzohngar M. Findley, Senator of Grand Bassa County, former Minister of International Affairs, and Particular Envoy of the President of Liberia, on Could 27 met with His Excellency Évariste Ndayishimiye, President of the Republic of Burundi.
Senator Findley formally conveyed President Boakai’s message, which included a request for Burundi’s precious assist for Liberia’s candidacy for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Safety Council (UNSC) for the 2026–2027 time period.
Discussions throughout the assembly centered on strengthening bilateral relations, exploring new areas of cooperation, and reinforcing the spirit of African unity and solidarity. Senator Findley additionally emphasised Liberia’s willingness to provoke and increase diplomatic engagement with the Republic of Burundi.
He highlighted potential areas for bilateral cooperation within the financial, technical, and commerce sectors and prolonged an invite for Burundian funding in Liberia. In response, President Ndayishimiye pledged Burundi’s full assist for Liberia’s UNSC bid. He expressed his appreciation to President Boakai for in search of assist from the Authorities and other people of Burundi and requested that his message of belief and goodwill be conveyed in return. Each events reaffirmed the mutual respect that has traditionally outlined Liberia-Burundi relations.
Some of the notable options of the marketing campaign has been the broad assist it has acquired from opposition figures and civil society. Senator Edwin Melvin Snowe Jr., a seasoned politician and member of the opposition, has actively campaigned for Liberia’s seat via his place as Head of Liberia’s Delegation to the ECOWAS Parliament.
“Right this moment, we made the case for Mama Liberia’s seat on the United Nations Safety Council,” Senator Snowe wrote following a latest ECOWAS session. “The President of the ECOWAS Fee responded positively, affirming Liberia as ECOWAS’ sole candidate. It is a nationwide trigger, not a partisan one.”
Moriah Yeakula-Kporpor of the Various Nationwide Congress (ANC) echoed that sentiment, lauding Minister Nyanti’s diplomatic efforts. “From the start, we supported this bid as a result of we knew it was in Liberia’s curiosity, and we had full confidence within the Minister’s management,” she acknowledged in a social media publish.
ANC political chief Alexander B. Cummings additionally voiced his assist, describing the marketing campaign as “a possibility for Liberia to say its relevance in world governance and champion African and regional priorities on the highest degree.”
Legislative Assist and Civic Mobilization On Capitol Hill, Liberia’s Home of Representatives handed a decision final week throwing its full assist behind the bid. Speaker Richard Nagbe Koon praised the marketing campaign as a “unifying nationwide undertaking” and emphasised that Liberia would use its voice on the Council to advocate for small states and growing nations.
Consultant Nehker E. Gaye, Chair of the Home Committee on International Affairs, famous the diplomatic significance of the marketing campaign. “This bid reaffirms Liberia’s legacy of peacekeeping, democracy promotion, and world cooperation,” Gaye stated. “We thank the international locations which have pledged their assist and encourage others to observe.”
Past the legislature, the Civil Servant Affiliation of Liberia (CSAL) has mobilized its members in assist of the bid. In a public assertion issued from Monrovia, the CSAL described President Boakai as “the chief architect of Liberia’s international coverage” and lauded Minister Nyanti for her “diplomatic stewardship and tireless advocacy.”
To mark the June 3 vote, the CSAL has referred to as on all public servants to put on Liberia’s nationwide colours — purple, white, and blue — as an illustration of nationwide solidarity. “Allow us to present the world that Liberians are united behind a typical objective,” the discharge acknowledged.
A Clear Slate Election and Liberia’s Strategic Place Liberia is certainly one of 5 international locations operating unopposed for the 5 out there non-permanent UNSC seats. The others are Bahrain (Asia-Pacific), Colombia (Latin America and the Caribbean), Latvia (Jap Europe), and the Democratic Republic of Congo (Africa).
Every regional candidate should nonetheless safe a two-thirds majority vote from the 193-member UN Basic Meeting. Whereas Liberia is the one West African nation contesting the seat, its unopposed candidacy doesn’t assure computerized election. As such, diplomatic lobbying has continued to make sure most assist from member states.
Liberia’s bid is especially vital in that it breaks a decades-old casual custom of rotating the West African seat between Francophone and Anglophone international locations. Following Sierra Leone, one other Anglophone nation, Liberia’s candidacy marks a second consecutive departure from this sample.
Nonetheless, regional leaders and diplomats have justified the choice on the grounds of Liberia’s dedication to peace, regional cooperation, and post-war restoration.
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