MONROVIA –The Economic Community of West African States Commission (ECOWAS) has congratulated Liberia on its election to the United Nations Security Council as a non-permanent member, while urging the country to use its historic return to the Council to aggressively promote Africa’s reform priorities and development aspirations on the global stage.
By Jaheim T. tumu-jaheim.tumu@frontpageafricaonline.com
Liberia secured 181 votes at the United Nations General Assembly, a decisive outcome that confirmed broad international backing for the country’s candidacy and cleared the way for it to begin its two year tenure in January 2026 under the African Union grouping known as the A3.
The election marks Liberia’s first presence on the Security Council since 1961, when it served a negotiated one year term, and comes at a time when African leaders are intensifying calls for reforms to global governance institutions.
In a statement welcoming the outcome, the ECOWAS Commission described Liberia’s victory as a resounding testament to the confidence of the international community in the country’s resilience and steady return to diplomatic relevance after years of political and economic instability.
The regional bloc emphasized that Liberia’s success reflects not only national progress but also collective West African solidarity within the African Union framework.
ECOWAS assured Monrovia of its full support and the total backing of all ECOWAS member states, noting that Liberia’s presence on the Security Council provides an important opportunity to consolidate and expand the work of the Africa Group in promoting West Africa’s interests on issues of democracy, peace and security.
The Commission stressed that the region expects Liberia to speak with clarity and consistency on matters affecting Africa’s stability, development and representation within the international system.
Beyond expressions of support, ECOWAS outlined specific expectations for Liberia’s engagement on the Council, calling on the country to champion key African priorities, particularly the operationalization and full implementation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2719. The resolution, adopted in December 2023, established a new framework for financing African Union led peace support operations by allowing United Nations assessed contributions to cover up to 75 percent of mission costs, with the African Union responsible for providing the remaining 25 percent.
Despite the significance of Resolution 2719, progress on its implementation has been slow. As of late 2025, no peace mission had been funded under the new arrangement, and efforts to apply the framework to the African Union mission in Somalia have stalled amid concerns over funding guarantees and burden sharing.
A joint African Union and United Nations task force is currently working on technical and political aspects of implementation, while debates continue among member states over whether the African Union can reliably mobilize its required financial contribution. ECOWAS believes Liberia’s voice on the Council will be critical in pushing the process forward and translating the resolution into practical outcomes.
The regional bloc also urged Liberia to actively support Africa’s economic agenda, including advocacy linked to the African Continental Free Trade Area. While the AfCFTA has faced implementation challenges and generated debate across the continent, African and global leaders continue to frame it as a cornerstone of Africa’s long term economic transformation.
In February 2025, speaking in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, United Nations Secretary General António Guterres told African Union leaders that the partnership between the United Nations and the African Union had never been stronger and encouraged them to seize Africa’s demographic and economic momentum.
Guterres described Africa as brimming with hope and possibility, pointing to its booming and enterprising population and its status as home to the largest concentration of young people in the world. He said the African Continental Free Trade Area is poised to turbocharge the region’s economy by boosting intra African trade, industrialization and job creation, and called for sustained political commitment to unlock its full potential.
ECOWAS further called on Liberia, as West Africa’s sole representative on the non-permanent Security Council during its tenure, to advocate forcefully for long standing African demands for reform of the Council itself, as well as for reparations and reparative justice.
The Commission underscored that these demands are rooted in historical injustices and ongoing structural inequalities that continue to marginalize Africa within global decision making systems.
As part of this push, the African Union declared 2025 the Year of Reparations, arguing that justice for Africa and people of African descent requires not only financial compensation but also deep structural change in international institutions and economic relationships.
Africa currently accounts for more than a quarter of United Nations member states yet holds no permanent seat on the Security Council, a reality African leaders say undermines the legitimacy and representativeness of the body.
The Ezulwini Consensus and the Accra Proclamation continue to guide Africa’s unified position on Security Council reform, calling for at least two permanent seats with full veto power and five non-permanent seats for the continent. ECOWAS leaders see the period leading into 2026 as a critical turning point and believe Liberia’s presence on the Council can help amplify calls for reparative justice, equitable representation and a rebalancing of global governance structures.
Liberia’s election has been widely viewed as a major diplomatic milestone and a symbol of the country’s reemergence on the international stage.
Liberia last served on the Security Council in 1961 during a negotiated one-year term, a period that contrasts sharply with the contemporary two-year non-permanent membership secured through a competitive General Assembly vote.
The post ECOWAS Urges Liberia to Champion Resolution 2719, AfCFTA, Reparations at UNSC appeared first on FrontPageAfrica.
Leave a Reply