DRC returns to UN Security Council as non-permanent member after 35 years

The United Nations Security Council refreshes about a third of its non-permanent members each year. © Eduardo Munoz / Reuters

The Democratic Republic of Congo returns to the United Nations Security Council as a non-permanent member for the 2026-2027 term for the first time in more than three decades, hoping to keep the armed crisis in its eastern provinces high on the council's agenda.

A third of the non-permanent seats on the UN Security Council change hands each year – and from January 2026, Algeria, South Korea, Guyana, Sierra Leone and Slovenia will be replaced by Bahrain, Latvia, Colombia, Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).