The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Liberia have joined the UN Security Council as non-permanent members for the 2026–2027 term, expanding Africa’s representation on the 15-member body alongside Somalia, which is serving its own elected term.
The Council also welcomed Bahrain, Colombia and Latvia as the other newly seated non-permanent members whose mandates run through 2027. They replace outgoing members Algeria, Sierra Leone, South Korea, Guyana and Slovenia, according to UN election results and Reuters reporting on the 2025 vote.
For the DRC, the seat marks its first return to the Council in 35 years, and officials signaled an intent to use the two-year window to shape debates on UN security tools — particularly peacekeeping. “We will actively contribute to discussions on the future of United Nations peacekeeping operations,” Congolese Deputy Foreign Minister Noëlla Ayeganagato Nakwipone said. Citing the DRC’s experience hosting the UN peacekeeping mission MONUSCO for more than two decades, she said the country has “concrete experience” of both the challenges and limitations of such operations.
Liberia also returned to the Council for the first time since 1961, with its UN ambassador Lewis Garseedah Brown II framing Liberia’s role as bridge-building and consensus-driven. “Liberia comes to the Security Council guided by experience and anchored in the United Nations Charter,” he said, adding that Liberia would work to “build bridges” and contribute “constructively to a safer world.”
The DRC’s election is drawing particular attention at a moment of intensified conflict in the country’s east, where Congolese forces have been battling the M23 armed group. Kinshasa and UN experts have repeatedly accused Rwanda of backing M23 — an allegation Rwanda has denied — and the Security Council has in recent weeks called for de-escalation while renewing MONUSCO’s mandate for another year.
Africanews reported that Congolese officials see the Council seat as a diplomatic opening to push for an end to the war in eastern Congo, including stronger international engagement on conflict prevention and resolution.
