Liberia Advances A3/A3+ Strategy

By Lincoln G. Peters

NEW YORK, United States, September 22, 2026: Liberia has moved to strengthen coordination among African members of the United Nations Security Council by developing an initial draft of a Practical Handbook intended to guide the collective engagement of the A3/A3+ grouping.

Deputy Minister for International Cooperation and Economic Integration at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Dr. Ibrahim Al-Bakri Nyei, announced the initiative Monday, September 21, while presiding over an A3/A3+ dialogue on the margins of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.

Dr. Nyei, representing Foreign Minister Sara Beysolow Nyanti, urged participating countries and African Union institutions to take collective ownership of the proposed handbook and help transform it into a practical instrument for advancing common African positions at the Security Council.

The dialogue brought together members of the A3 family, alongside representatives of the African Union Permanent Observer Mission to the United Nations and the AU Department of Political Affairs, Peace and Security.

Liberia’s initiative is intended to strengthen coordination among African Security Council members and their partners and ensure that shared priorities are articulated consistently during negotiations and deliberations.

The proposed handbook is envisioned as a reference tool to support diplomacy, improve institutional coordination and preserve lessons from successive African delegations serving on the Security Council.

Delivering his opening remarks, Dr. Nyei said experience has demonstrated that coordinated African positions carry greater diplomatic weight at the Council.

“Liberia has stepped forward to put pen to paper and prepare an initial working draft of an A3/A3+ Practical Handbook,” Dr. Nyei said.

He stressed, however, that the document should not be regarded as a Liberian initiative alone.

“I want to underscore this in the warmest and most fraternal terms: this is not, and cannot be, Liberia’s handbook. It belongs to all of us. Liberia has merely laid the foundation stones, but its legitimacy and true value depend entirely on our shared ownership,” he said.

Dr. Nyei called on A3 members, the AU Observer Mission and the AU Political Affairs, Peace and Security team to designate technical focal points to work with Liberia in reviewing and strengthening the draft.

“Please designate focal points from your expert teams to sit with ours, challenge the draft, inject your institutional insights, and refine it into a living instrument that our continent can rely upon year after year,” he appealed.

“Let us build this together so that every African delegation stepping into the Council stands firmly on the shoulders of those who came before.”

The A3 refers to the three African countries occupying non-permanent seats on the 15-member United Nations Security Council. In 2026, the grouping comprises Liberia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia.

The mechanism is designed to strengthen coordination among African Council members and advance common African positions on international peace and security matters.

The A3+ arrangement expands that coordination to include a non-African Council member that works closely with the African bloc. In previous Council configurations, Caribbean countries, including Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Guyana, have participated as the “Plus” member.

The African Union Peace and Security Council has repeatedly emphasized the importance of unity, cohesion and coordinated action among the A3 in advancing common African positions within the UN Security Council.

Liberia began its two-year term as a non-permanent member of the Security Council in January 2026, alongside the Democratic Republic of the Congo, joining Somalia as Africa’s three representatives on the Council.

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