Mozambique took up its seat as a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council at the UN headquarters in New York, on 3 January.

Addressing the ceremony, the Mozambican ambassador to the UN, Pedro Comissario, speaking on behalf of President Filipe Nyusi, pledged "to fully devote our energies with the cooperation of fellow members of this august body to the maintenance of peace and security worldwide. This is a primary responsibility of the UN charter assigned to the Council".

"The imperative of searching for peaceful solutions to conflicts and the duty to cooperate with other nations are sacred principles enshrined in the Constitution of Mozambique", added Comissario. "As an elected member we will therefore attach great attention to situations that constitute serious threats to the peaceful existence of states in the 21st century".

"Paramount among contemporary threats to national peace and security is the progressive Africanisation of terrorism affecting our continent", he warned. "We think this must be stemmed and reversed. The international community must pool its efforts towards this endeavour".

Ambassador Comissario noted that the UN "was created to be a centre for harmonising the actions of nations in the attainment of our common goals, including international peace and security, the pursuit of friendly relations among nations and international cooperation".

"We believe achieving these goals can open avenues, as the charter says, for the promotion of social progress, better standards of living and broader freedom. We must continue to live up to the Charter's call", declared Comissario.

During the ceremony, the Security Council hoisted the flags of Mozambique, and the other four countries elected last year as non-permanent members of the Council, namely Ecuador, Japan, Malta, and Switzerland.