By Hassan I. Conteh

 “It’s a pride for this nation,” Sierra Leone’s Minister of Information and Civil Education, Chernor Bah, talks at a special press engagement.

He was addressing senior journalists at Sierra Leone’s Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation on Thursday August  1, 2024 in Freetown.

Mr Bah explained how as a nation they’ve worked hard to occupy the world’s enviable seat of presidency of the United Nations Security Council.

“It’s a vision of the president and leadership as a selfless individual. We want the media to help ordinary Sierra Leoneans to be informed about our position in the international stage.”

“With our seven (7) months as non-permanent member in UN Security Council, we don’t longer talk of again as a non-permanent member at the UN Security Council but now we are charged with the responsibility to provide a leadership role in security matters in the world over,” says Minister Bah.

The UN General Assembly elected five new members of the Security Council to serve for the period of 1 January 2024 to 31 December, 2025 and Sierra Leone was among the countries elected.

The officials dilated at the media engagement on the topic: Sierra Leone’s historic presidency of the United Nations Security Council-agenda and expectations.

Mr Bah reiterated the vision of President Maada Bio of ensuring transparency in governance operations.

“This is the level of engagement and transparency that the president always talks of to be promoted between government institutions on their operations and the general public,” he said.

It could be recalled that Sierra Leone gained a status as a non-permanent member at the United Nations Security Council since 1972, and was prominently known to have influenced Taiwan to support China’s bid to become a veto member.

On its latest appointment to the UN Security Council, the country has played a vital role to influence peace discussions at the Council aimed at seeking out lasting solutions in conflict affected countries like Ukraine-Russia, Israel-Palestine and Sudan.

“Our seven (7) months at UN Security Council, nations have continued to respect Sierra Leone.” “The reason the president sent me to Russia was to talk to Russian authorities for them to make a presidential statement at UNSC on the possibility of ending the Russia-Ukraine war. We have also condemned the Israel-Palestine war while supporting the idea of Palestine to be a state on its own as well as calling for a separate state for Israel,” says Hon. Alhaji Timothy Kabba, Sierra Leone’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation.

He said they advocated for a reform of the UN Security Council with the view of addressing ongoing world’s problems such as wars, famine and terrorism.

“We live in precarious times, terrorism has become so rife in Africa as well. In fact, most nations have requested our president to bring in his past military knowledge as strategy to return countries with military regimes to democratic rule,” minister Kabba said.

Sierra Leone has assumed the presidential seat at the UN Security Council in August, 2024.

On August 7th, 2024, Sierra Leone is to spearhead a debate on how to promote the rights of women and youth in conflict situations.

On the 21st of August this year, Sierra Leone’s foreign minister, Mr Timothy Kabba, will serve as a chairman at the UN Security Council with a panel of member states focusing on ways to prevent conflicts in the world.

“We are not going into that debate on a common Africa position, but to seek for Africa’s permanent seat at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) with two members’ permanent states from Africa and to advocate for three additional seats at the UN body,” says Sierra Leone’s Foreign Affairs’ Deputy Policy Director, Mr Logan.

He said already some countries in Africa have started asking them which of the countries will be chosen to represent Africa if given the five seats.

Mr Logan said Sierra Leone is able to occupy the security seat in the UN body due to the maintenance of its relative stability and peace for years after the end of the eleven years civil war in the country fought from 1992 to 2002.