Sierra Leone has been elected as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council (UNSC) among countries representing the African region.
The UN General Assembly voted on Tuesday to fill positions in the non-permanent member category for the 15-member Council.
Sierra Leone was elected alongside Algeria to fill two of the three slots allocated to Africa for the period 2024-2025.
The UNSC is one of six organs of the UN and it has the primary responsibility of maintaining international peace and security.
Five of the members of the Council – China, France, Russia, United Kingdom and United States – have permanent status. The group collectively known as the P5 each wields the power to veto a resolution.
The remaining 10 members are elected to serve on a rotational two-year, non-consecutive terms, without veto power.
But the seats in the non-permanent category are allocated per region. Africa has three, which are currently occupied by Kenya, Ghana and Gabon.
In this election, however, only the two of these seats occupied by Ghana and Gabon were up for replacement.
Other countries elected on Tuesday are Belarus, Guyana, Republic of Korea and Slovenia representing the other geographical regions.
Sierra Leone in May 2022 launched the bid for its membership as part of a campaign designed to lobby regional powers for support. Nigeria, which had expressed interest for the seat, dropped out with the mediation of the West African bloc ECOWAS.
Sierra Leone later received the African Union’s endorsement at its 39th Ordinary Session of Heads of State, and Algeria’s earlier at its 37th Session.
Sierra Leone served in the UNSC once, from 1970 to 1971, since it joined the UN in 1961.
When he announced his country’s bid last year, President Julius Maada Bio described the move as a step towards fulfilling a desire to advance and sustain global peace.
His government said it wanted to use the country’s civil war experience to promote global peace.
According to the government, the bid would also enhance efforts by Africa towards a reformed UN Security Council.
Sierra Leone currently chairs the African Union’s Committee of Ten (C-10), which is charged with negotiating the continent’s position on the reform of the UNSC. Other members of that committee are Kenya, Equatorial Guinea, Republic of the Congo, Namibia, Zambia, Libya, Algeria, Senegal and Uganda.
Africa wants to have two permanent representatives in the Council and an additional two seats as non-permanent representatives, as enshrined in the Ezulwini Consensus and Sirte Declaration, also called the African Common Position.
