INTERNATIONAL NEWS
WASHINGTON DC – The United Nations Security Council must take immediate action to address the growing threat of maritime insecurity, Liberia’s Ambassador to the United Nations, H.E. Amb. Lewis G. Brown, II, has said in a strongly worded statement.
By: Kabina S. Kabah – kabinaskabah98@gmail.com
The call follows a recent incident in which a Liberian-flagged vessel was seized by Iran on April 22. The development has underscored the urgent need for the international community to work collectively to protect global waterways and ensure the safety of commercial shipping.
Ambassador Brown warned that the world cannot afford to allow its waterways to become “theaters of unchecked disruptions,” cautioning that such a trend could shift the global order from interdependence to division.
“We speak with the clarity of an affected nation,” he said, noting that the seizure of the Liberian-flagged vessel not only caused damage but also highlighted the increasing risks faced by seafarers and commercial shipping.
He stressed that current threats to international waterways reflect a “dangerous erosion of long-established norms,” as navigational rights and freedoms are openly challenged, attacks on merchant vessels increase, and seafarers face growing dangers along critical maritime routes.
Ambassador Brown emphasized that maritime insecurity is not a distant issue or abstract concern.
“It is felt in empty shelves, higher fuel prices, delayed humanitarian aid, and uncertainty in daily life,” he said. “When shipping lanes are disrupted, global stability does not bend slowly—it fractures immediately.”
To address the situation, he called for the immediate restoration of restraint, urging an end to attacks on commercial shipping and interference with lawful navigation.
He further urged the Security Council to ensure consistency in its resolutions, stressing that credibility depends on even-handed implementation.
Additionally, Ambassador Brown proposed that major maritime chokepoints be treated as zones of shared responsibility, where transparency is mandatory. He also called for the establishment of a standing, independent incident-tracking and verification mechanism to provide real-time, depoliticized reporting on disruptions to commercial shipping.
The Ambassador reaffirmed that the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is not optional but foundational.
“It is not a suggestion—it is the operating system of the oceans,” he said. “Freedom of navigation, transit passage, and innocent passage are not privileges, but rights to which the entire world is entitled.”
“Liberia will continue to stand for a simple principle: that the world’s waterways must remain open, governed by law, and protected—not just because trade depends on it, but because trust does,” he added.
Ambassador Brown urged the UN Security Council to take decisive and concrete action, warning that maritime insecurity poses a serious threat to global stability, economies, and human lives.
