Monrovia, Liberia – Through its embassy located close to Monrovia, the People’s Republic of China has congratulated Liberia on her election as a non-prominent member of the UN Security Council, less then 24 hours. Together with the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Liberia was formally chosen to represent Africa as non-permanent members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) for the 2026–2027 term.
As one of Liberia’s longstanding diplomatic allies, China congratulated the country and assured Liberia that it is prepared to further its cooperation with Liberia in multilateral and Council issues, working together to maintain global peace and security and achieve shared prosperity.
“Warmest congratulations to Liberia on its successful election as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council for 2026-2027! What a milestone in more than 6 decades for Liberia. China stands ready to enhance cooperation with Liberia in the Council & multilateral affairs, working together to uphold international peace & security and promote common prosperity.”
Liberia was elected using a procedure that stipulates that a candidate nation must obtain a two-thirds majority of the votes cast by the participating Member States. Out of the 190 nations that casted ballots, Liberia received 181 votes, over the 129 positive threshold votes needed to win a seat.
In September 2023, during the 78th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York, where the first Independent African Nation launched her campaign and started enlisting the support of regional and international partners, Liberia announced that it was running for one of the two seats open to the African Group.
Both the African Union (AU) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) strongly supported Liberia’s campaign, which highlighted her unwavering dedication to peace, security, and prosperity throughout the African continent.
The election was held in compliance with regional rotation policies and established General Assembly processes. The 79th UNGA session, which started in September 2024 and will end in September 2025, was chaired by H.E. Philemon Yang of Cameroon.
Article 23, which reads as follows: “The General Assembly shall elect ten other Members of the United Nations to be non-permanent members of the Security Council, with due regard being specially paid, in the first instance to the contribution of Members of the United Nations to the maintenance of international peace and security and to the other purposes of the Organization, as well as to equitable geographical distribution,” was the legal basis for the procedure.
The two-year terms of each elected non-permanent member will start on January 1, 2026, and end on December 31, 2027. Candidates need to receive a two-thirds majority vote in the General Assembly in order to be elected.
Photo credit: JETTY IMAGE
