By George Shadrack Kamanda
A Beginning Shaped by Quiet Foundations
Some stories do not begin in the spotlight. Mine began far from New York and far from any expectation of prominence, in a modest home in Kissy Road in the Eastern part of Freetown. It was there that I first observed the quiet endurance of ordinary people like my beautiful mother, Georgette Shirley Smith who carried heavy burdens with dignity and resolve. My own circumstances growing up carried its own complexities, but that reflection belongs elsewhere. What mattered then was the grounding that shaped everything that followed. A grounding based on faith, hard work, and an uncommon dedication to the common good and to service to Sierra Leone.
From Saint Philip’s Primary School, John F. Kennedy International Academy, to the Prince of Wales Secondary School and Delaware County Community College in the United States, each stage stretched possibility without severing humility. My journey continued to Saint Joseph’s University in Philadelphia and later to the University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School, where I completed a postgraduate certificate in Global Human Rights and learned the discipline that higher study demands. Law school refined that learning. My studies in diplomacy at the University of Oxford brought these experiences together and placed them within a clearer understanding of public service, responsibility, and the demands of governance.
I offer these thoughts in a spirit of humility for my journey thus far. Nothing about my path was straightforward. Much of it rested on faith in God, the sacrifices of my mother and my late brother, the trust of teachers and mentors and the grace of opportunities I did not create on my own. Yet each step prepared me for the moment that followed in November 2023, when I received the appointment letter to serve as one of the legal experts supporting Sierra Leone’s historic return to the United Nations Security Council after fifty four (54) years.
A deeper sense of duty, something that had always been lurking beneath my drive and uncommon will to build and be a part of a Sierra Leone we could all be proud of, awakened in me then. I hope to convey this in the following lines.
Service, Principles and the Call to Duty
I have always believed in performance leadership over positional leadership and in service to the common good rather than the pursuit of individual status. Responsible citizenship and ethical leadership remain essential parts of our national development, and these two interrelated tenets have guided the entirety of my civic advocacy and public service. These beliefs shaped how I entered the Security Council Chamber and how I approached my responsibilities as a legal expert. I carried my faith in God, my books, my discipline, my ethics, and a deep sense of country, not fully aware of how much this assignment would transform me. From the very beginning, I understood that this was no ordinary responsibility. It was a call to serve Sierra Leone with clarity, humility, and a steady awareness of who we are as a people.
The notion that foreign policy begins at home reveals itself slowly. It is less an idea than a principle one grows into. Nations that invest in their civic health stand taller abroad. Nations that tend to their institutions, their sense of unity and their moral purpose speak with credibility in global affairs. The work we delivered in New York was not simply multilateral diplomacy. It was a reflection of how seriously Sierra Leone takes its foreign policy.
Our return to the Council did not begin in January 2024. It began in Freetown, in the mind and conviction of His Excellency Julius Maada Bio that Sierra Leone belonged at the table where questions of peace and justice are debated. It began in the careful planning of the Foreign Ministry, in the budgetary work at the Finance Ministry, in the preparation across our foreign missions and in the national institutions that anchor our democratic resilience. What the world saw in New York from January 2024 to December 2025 was the flowering of decisions taken much earlier.
When Sierra Leone announced its candidacy, many wondered if the goal was too ambitious for a small and modest country, only finding its developmental footing. I, for one, believe ambition is not arrogance, though it can become so if not anchored by discipline. I followed that journey closely. I stood in the General Assembly Hall when Sierra Leone secured one of the highest vote margins ever earned by an African country for a non-permanent seat at the Security Council. I listened to the then Minister of Foreign Affairs, Professor Dr David Francis, address the media moments after our election. It felt as if a chapter long prepared had finally begun. Under the leadership of President Bio, the stewardship of the Foreign Ministry, the commitment of our missions abroad, our development partners and our Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York, skepticism matured into resolve. That resolve carried us through the two-year mandate as a non-permanent member of the only lawmaking organ of the United Nations.
There were moments that demanded discipline, patience, and reflection. But taken as a whole, the experience strengthened our national posture and our growing role in international justice and global affairs, one that I hope we can harmonize where it also matters: back home.
Work, Responsibility and the Craft of Diplomacy
My responsibilities during our Council tenure were wide ranging and intellectually demanding. As one of the legal experts and advisers supporting the Council team, I worked across files concerning Africa, the Middle East, and several sanctions committees. On the legal side, I handled matters relating to the International Criminal Court, the International Court of Justice, and a significant portion of the Sixth Committee agenda, including state responsibility, diplomatic protection, immunities, crimes against humanity, universal jurisdiction, the work of the International Law Commission and international humanitarian law.
My work spanned beyond the Council chamber, the General Assembly and broader UN processes. It involved reading treaties, analyzing the UN Charter, interpreting conventions, preparing statements, drafting memoranda and policy briefs, coordinating African States Parties to the Rome Statute, guiding discussions within the ICC-Caucus at the Security Council and supporting assigned roles across the Mission. It taught me the values of precision, restraint, judgment, and collaboration.
One of the clearest expressions of this approach to service and responsibility was reflected in Sierra Leone’s engagement on the Youth, Peace, and Security agenda during its tenure. What began as sustained internal coordination, principled advocacy, and careful coalition building within the Council evolved into a process that tested both patience and technical discipline. It was within this context that Sierra Leone moved from contribution to leadership, shaping substance, language, and consensus around a shared priority that spoke directly to the role of young people in sustaining peace. This culminated in the unanimous adoption of Security Council Resolution 2807 (2025), an outcome achieved through the leadership and technical stewardship of Permanent Representative and Ambassador Michael Imran Kanu and our Mission’s Co Lead Youth, Peace and Security Experts, Mr. Isaac Sheku Bayoh, Ms. Agnes Bio, and Political adviser, Mr. Shaekou Allieu, who guided the process from conceptual framing through negotiation to adoption. Their work positioned Sierra Leone not only as a participant, but as a principal architect of this milestone in the Council’s Youth, Peace, and Security agenda.
From the first month of our UNSC tenure, the work carried meaning. By a way of example, our first national statement in January 2024 concerned the International Criminal Court. As the file expert, I prepared the zero draft of the statement. Nearly two years later, during our second presidency of our UNSC tenure in November 2025, one of our final substantive statements was again on the International Criminal Court. The symmetry was unplanned yet striking. It reflected Sierra Leone’s identity as a country committed to international criminal justice, accountability, and the rule of law.
Multilateral diplomacy teaches lessons no classroom can. My studies at the University of Oxford sharpened my understanding of global affairs and public leadership. My Security Council and wider experience prior to accepting the call to duty and at the United Nations gave me further insights and judgment on the world order. Negotiations I engaged in showed that law breathes differently when political will is scarce. They also showed that small states, through clarity in their foreign policy and political steadiness, can lead. Nations listen when your ideas are coherent, and your voice has depth. My work during our Council tenure forced me to grow intellectually and professionally. It also shaped how I understand public service and decision making.
The two years proved that Sierra Leone’s foreign policy machinery is capable and confident, while also revealing areas for improvement and consolidation across ministries and agencies. We delivered two presidencies marked by substance. We advanced Africa’s longstanding call for Security Council reform. We convened debates on food insecurity, youth participation and women’s participation in peace and security and peacebuilding. We strengthened the A3+ position at the Council and contributed to Sierra Leone’s rising leadership across global platforms, from the African Union Peace and Security Council to ECOWAS and beyond. Our voice now carries weight, not because of our size but because of steadiness, and yes, because of the vision of His Excellency Julius Maada Bio.
Sierra Leone’s election to the Economic and Social Council for the 2026 to 2028 term reflects a country engaging the world with continuity and purpose. Our foreign policy is no longer episodic. It is becoming a steady expression of who we are and who we seek to become. Yet, collectively, we must never forget, however, that foreign policy begins at home, and our domestic stability is crucial for our global engagement.
Leadership, Gratitude and the Path Forward
Honestly speaking, I started writing this reflection some few months ago, and hopefully, it will serve the test of time and for posterity. Hence, I am unable to apologize for its length, nor for its completeness, even though the goal is to communicate, not perfection. My hope is for this note to inspire one Sierra Leonean out there to see public service as a rare privilege that demands the best from us all, in character, in courage, and in commitment.
In the realm of diplomatic achievements, a leadership that embraces a long-term vision is paramount. His Excellency Julius Maada Bio’s foresight has been the cornerstone of our multifaceted engagement. This vision has been steadfastly upheld by successive Ministers of Foreign Affairs, including Ms. Nabeela Tunis, Dr. Alie Kabba, Dr. David Francis, and the current foreign minister, Honorable Timothy Musa Kabba. Minister Kabba, in particular, has played a pivotal role in ensuring continuity and advancing our objectives with remarkable dedication and steadiness. Ambassador Dr. Michael Imran Kanu has also been instrumental in this chapter, serving first as Deputy Permanent Representative, Legal, and later as Permanent Representative and Ambassador. His technical expertise, discipline, and commitment have been crucial in guiding our Permanent Mission at the United Nations to success. Together, these leaders have forged a path for our successful tenure at the Council.
Equally, I honour the civil servants, Mission and local staff and experts who carried the daily weight of our responsibilities. Their work often goes unseen, yet it forms the backbone of every foreign policy and diplomatic success. Our development partners, regional bodies and fellow Member States offered trust and cooperation. Above all, I recognise the people of Sierra Leone. Their resilience remains the anchor of every achievement we take to the world stage.
As I reflect on my own experience and political identity, I do so with unreserved candor and responsibility. I am a proud member of the Sierra Leone People’s Party, yet my loyalty to Sierra Leone stands above all affiliations. Our country’s challenges demand citizens who belong by conviction, not by division. We must be disciplined enough to serve Sierra Leone irrespective of political party, tribe, region, social background, or economic circumstance. Our nation grows when its people see themselves first as Sierra Leoneans, responsible for the task of building, nurturing, and protecting what we share. This is the Sierra Leone I want to be part of. This is the Sierra Leone I want to help build. We can work together to shape a better future for our country, regardless of political, social, tribal, or cultural differences.
Throughout these two years, I have consistently returned to the principles that has guided my adult life. Performance over position. Service over self. Commitment to the common good above personal interest. Every morning, I boarded the train to work in New York, surrounded by the city’s fast pace and its exacting cost of living, I was reminded of the privilege of representing my country. That privilege kept me grounded. It carried me through negotiations, demanding files and moments requiring steadiness. It taught me to remain humble, focused, and ready for greater service.
This experience has also prepared me for higher responsibility by strengthening my understanding of foreign policy, international law, and public service. It has also deepened my belief that Sierra Leone can continue to rise when guided by discipline, principle, and unity of purpose. My hope is that the skills and lessons gained abroad contribute to stronger institutions, systems, and a renewed sense of national purpose at home. A foreign policy that begins at home must ultimately return home, strengthening a culture of citizenship built on the conviction that we are one country, one people, pursuing one sustainable national development agenda.
To conclude this reflection, I extend my gratitude to His Excellency Julius Maada Bio for entrusting young people, including myself, with the responsibility to serve Sierra Leone. Meeting His Excellency in August 2024 and having the singular opportunity to present my book, “Citizenship Reimagined,” and receiving his counsel on human capital development remains an important chapter of my young professional career and journey thus far. My thanks also go to my wife, Georgiana Nancy Favour Kamanda for her love, support, prayers, and patience throughout this period, doing it all, while been in two different continents.
I am honoured to have been part of history after fifty four years outside the Council. I thank my Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ for the grace and wisdom that guided me every step of the way.
Until then, we press on. For God. For Country. For Service.
George Shadrack Kamanda
January 11, 2026
Sierra Leone
