I am honoured to
address this sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly
on behalf of the people of Liberia. I congratulate you,
Mr. President, on your election to lead this Assembly
and am convinced that you will bring to the office your
wealth of experience as a former President and Foreign
Minister of the Swiss Confederation.
Let me express appreciation to your predecessor,
His Excellency Mr. Ali Abdussalam Treki, for the
capable manner in which he conducted the affairs of
the sixty-fourth session of the General Assembly.
Allow me also to extend highest commendation
to Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for his unwavering
commitment to the Organization and his efficient
management of its affairs.
I wish to congratulate President Jacob Zuma and
the Government and people of South Africa on having
successfully hosted the 2010 World Cup for the first
time on our African continent. They made Africa
proud, and we in turn are proud of them.
Some four years ago, I stood at this rostrum and
told the story of a country exhibiting the symptoms of
two decades of self-destruction: a criminalized and
collapsed economy, a suffocating external debt overhang,
dysfunctional institutions, destroyed infrastructure, a
pariah nation in a state of decay, and a people in a state
of despair. All of this translated into hundreds of
thousands in refugee camps, equal numbers of the
talented in the diaspora, and thousands of women,
young people and children struggling for survival.
Today, I stand here to report on the progress that
can be made from the collective effort of a resilient
people, a responsive partnership, and effective
leadership. We have come to report with confidence
that Liberia is well on the way to recovery. In less than
five years, our economy has experienced an average
annual growth rate of 6.5 per cent, despite the drag on
the two-digit potential occasioned by the 2009 global
economic crisis.
I can say with pride that, having successfully
carried out the reforms required under the Heavily
Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative, on
17 September, at the Paris Club, the final segment of
Liberia’s $4.9-billion external debt was written off the
books. I can report that we have opened the economy
to put the private sector at the centre of our
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development effort and thereby have attracted some
$16 billion in private investment in the reactivation of
our mining, agriculture and forestry sectors. In
addition, a new potential was recently discovered in oil
exploration.
The results of reform in our security sector,
enhanced by the continued deployment of the United
Nations peacekeeping force, have stabilized the
security situation in the country, where people move
freely around. Experience in this regard shows that
peacekeeping and peacebuilding can and should take
place concurrently, and we are pleased that Liberia is
now formally placed on the agenda of the
Peacebuilding Commission to enable us to chart the
way for a smooth transition from peacekeeping and
peacebuilding to recovery.
Moreover, we have encouraged a vibrant
environment in which people have exercised their
inalienable rights to free expression, association,
religion and access to the press without hindrance.
Nobody has been molested on account of views
expressed. Liberia has no prisoners of conscience in
detention, nor does anyone have cause to flee in fear
for their life or safety on account of their political
beliefs or association.
Thus, in promoting a liberal environment in
which freedom, equity and equality are exercised as the
best guarantees of peace, security and stability, we can
boast of being counted among the Governments that
have demonstrated commitment to good governance
and proven respect for human rights.
Regionally, Liberia continues to demonstrate its
commitment to good-neighbourliness, peaceful
coexistence and respect for the sovereign integrity of
other nations. We actively participate in subregional
and regional affairs through the African Union, the
Economic Community of West African States, the
Community of Sahel-Saharan States, and the Mano
River Union. The Mano River Union is currently under
Liberia’s chairmanship, and this has allowed us to stay
engaged with our members, Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire,
as they embark upon their political transitions.
We hail the recent breakthrough by President
Barack Obama in bringing the Palestinians and Israelis
back to the negotiating table and holding their leaders
to their words to fulfil their promise to remain engaged
and conduct direct talks aimed at ending that long-
running crisis.
Because we live in a global village, a continued
crisis in any Member State or region should warrant
our concern. Moreover, an unending crisis contradicts
the cardinal objective of the United Nations, which is
the promotion of international peace and security. In
that regard, we suggest that the situation in Somalia
warrants a Chapter VII intervention. In a country that
has gone many years without a stable constitutional
Government, the presence of pirates, extremists and
other terrorist elements there should sound the alarm.
The world needs to act promptly, as we cannot afford
to see Somalia remain a haven for anarchists and
extremists.
That is why our Government supports the role of
the African Union in fielding troops in Somalia. We
call for more troop deployment from other countries,
and we strongly support action to put an end to the
Somali quagmire. We also call on the Somalis
themselves to accept dialogue and go to the negotiating
table to thrash out their differences and restore their
country to rightful peace and dignity. While we
acknowledge the right of States to self-defence and the
promotion of programmes in support of national
interests, we call on them to do so responsibly, with
respect for international public opinion and the
protocols and conventions surrounding such
developments.
At this week’s Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs) summit, we reaffirmed Liberia’s commitment
to continuing to work for the achievement of all eight
Goals, although we are implementing those Goals
under a more challenging context. Our national
development agenda and programmes for ensuring
national reconciliation, good governance and the rule
of law, national security, food security, and the
implementation of our poverty reduction strategy are
consistent with the objectives of the MDGs. Our
progress bears the fruits of this commitment.
We are pleased to note the progress the world has
made in the advancement of women. Today, there is
greater representation of women in Government, in
political life, business and civil society. Liberia’s own
effort was recognized on Sunday when we received an
award for our progress on MDG 3, on the
empowerment of women. We also commend this body
and the Secretary-General for their work in
establishing the United Nations Entity for Gender
Equality and the Empowerment of Women, and we
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applaud the appointment of the former President of
Chile, Michelle Bachelet, to take on this responsibility.
We have five years left to go to achieve the
MDGs. For us, it is not the target date that matters;
rather, it is the commitment to achieving the Goals that
is important. We therefore call upon our partner
countries to support the realization of the Goals
through strong global partnership, as recommended in
MDG 8. We believe in the partnerships we have
enjoyed with the bilateral and multilateral institutions
that have made our progress possible. We call upon all
in this Hall to secure the strength of this partnership,
which benefits all of our countries, by supporting the
replenishment of the resources of the World Bank and
the African Development Bank.
Liberia’s progress is not without challenges. The
satisfactory security environment of which I speak is
still fragile, and made more so by the political
uncertainties in our subregion. We also continue to face
the tensions associated with the thousands of our
young people who, lacking skills, are still unemployed.
Moreover, we continue to manage the raised
expectations expressed in the demand from villages
and communities across the country for essential
infrastructure such as roads, schools and clinics.
Perhaps the greatest challenge we face is to go beyond
the measures we have taken in formulating a public
service code of conduct, in introducing new
procurement and financial management systems, and in
establishing and strengthening the pillars of
integrity — all aimed at addressing long-standing
corruption. Reform of the judicial system and efforts to
change an inherited value system are additional
measures that are under way.
Another challenge is Liberia’s vulnerability to
organized cross-border crime, including drug and
human trafficking, as the result of porous borders and
limited law-enforcement capacity, with weak national
security organizations. Against this background, we
recently signed the Freetown Commitment on
Combating Illicit Trafficking of Drugs and
Transnational Organized Crime in West Africa, which
should assist us in promoting capacity-building in the
region to combat transnational crime.
The root cause of civil crisis in Liberia was the
consistent failure of democratic transitions that would
usher in Governments elected by the people. With the
support of the United Nations, multiparty democratic
elections were held in 2005, following the end of the
civil crisis. In keeping with our Constitution, the
Liberian people will once again exercise the right of
choice when we hold elections in 2011.
The 2011 elections will mark a groundbreaking
turning point. They will complete Liberia’s transition
to full constitutional rule and participatory democracy.
This will be the true test of Liberia’s progress on the
road to development and its defining moment, which, if
successful, will serve as proof that we can truly stay on
an irreversible course towards peace and development.
It is absolutely essential that everything be done to
ensure a peaceful, legitimate and transparent process. I
wish to state categorically that my Government is
completely and fully committed to this objective, and
we call on the international community to stay with
Liberia on this last stretch. Already, the process leading
to the holding of elections in 2011 has begun with the
release of the election timetable.
As a founding Member of this Organization,
Liberia remains inspired by the noble objectives of the
United Nations in meeting enormous global challenges.
We believe in its ability to formulate and implement
programmes, particularly those aimed at raising the
standard of living of people, forging global cooperation
and solidarity, and encouraging dialogue to reduce
tension and conflicts.
In closing, we say again that Liberia is on the
way to recovery. We have thrown off the label of a
pariah State. We have restored hope to our people,
credibility and honour to our national integrity, and
won international creditworthiness and respect. Our
confidence in the future of our country is firm. Our
new vision of a rising Liberia seeks to move us to a
middle-income country by the year 2030. This is an
aggressive goal, but we are determined, and through
efficiency in the allocation and use of our natural
resources, we will succeed. We thank you, Sir, and all
the members of this noble institution for the support
that has brought Liberia to this point of progress.