My delegation and I are
honoured, for the second time, to address the General
Assembly on behalf of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
and the Government and people of Liberia. We
congratulate Mr. Ali Abdussalam Treki and his country,
the Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, on his
election as President of the Assembly at its sixty-fourth
session. We are convinced that, as a consummate
diplomat, Mr. Treki will bring his wealth of experience
into play as we tackle the complex issues on the
current session’s agenda, while entertaining hopes for a
resounding success. In this context, my delegation and
I assure the President of our full cooperation.
Permit me, therefore, to seize the opportunity to
pay a well-deserved tribute to the preceding President,
His Excellency Mr. Miguel d’Escoto Brockmann of the
Republic of Nicaragua, for the very able and effective
manner in which he steered the affairs of the
Assembly’s sixty-third session. His sound and shrewd
leadership was critical in steadying the turbulence
occasioned by the severe global economic and
financial crisis. Likewise, we commend the Secretary-
General, His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon, a visionary
statesman, for the unfaltering efforts with which he
continues to administer the affairs of this Organization.
His renewed dynamism and sense of purpose serve as
an impetus to our collective aspirations for the
attainment of global peace, security and development.
Liberia continues to make steady progress under
the excellent, indefatigable leadership of Her
Excellency President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf. Since her
inauguration in January 2006 as the first
democratically elected woman head of State of an
African country, the Government has undertaken a
number of important initiatives aimed at enhancing
national dialogue and reconciliation.
On 30 June 2009, the Truth and Reconciliation
Commission submitted an unedited report, which did
not gain the unanimous consent of the Commission,
since two members issued dissenting views.
Nonetheless, since its release the report has spurred
national debate, and the President has committed
herself to working with all stakeholders towards
implementation of the recommendations, which must
be in consonance with the Commission’s mandate, the
wishes of the Liberian people and the laws of our
country.
In order to protect the fundamental rights of the
Liberian people, the President has also nominated the
members of the Independent Human Rights
Commission, which will have the responsibility of
monitoring the implementation of the Truth and
Reconciliation Commission report. Under the Liberian
Constitution, the nominees must meet the consent of
the Liberian Senate, and that process is currently under
way. We have also established the Land Commission,
and its Commissioners have been appointed to address
the explosive issues of land disputes and the need for
land reform.
We note with satisfaction the achievement of the
national disarmament, demobilization, rehabilitation
and reintegration programme, carried out in
conjunction with the United Nations Mission in Liberia
(UNMIL). That programme was successfully
concluded in July of this year. However, high
unemployment, especially among the youth, remains a
major challenge.
Liberia is pleased with the progress being made
in the reconstitution of its armed forces, which
includes the training of the 2,000-strong army with the
assistance of our development partners, particularly the
United States of America. We continue to encourage
gender sensitivity in this important area of our national
endeavours, considering that at present there are only
58 women in the new force.
Improvements have also been registered in the
performance of the reorganized Liberia National Police
force, with the establishment of an emergency unit.
The police, however, continue to face difficulties in
achieving full operational capability in the areas of
infrastructure, equipment, logistics and other
requirements. Two weeks ago, successful partnership
consultations were held at United Nations
Headquarters here in New York on the strategic plan
25 09-52470
for the Liberia National Police. The responses of our
partners, especially India, were encouraging. The
objective of the strategic plan is to introduce an
integrated programme that would ensure a consistent
doctrine and training philosophy to enhance continuity.
A similar strategic plan is also required for the Bureau
of Immigration and Naturalization to improve its
efficiency and effectiveness in border control.
We are pleased to report that Liberia has
continued to make significant strides in the
administration of justice and rule of law, in spite of
daunting obstacles. We have established a special
sexual and gender-based violent crimes court, which
has begun hearing cases and encouraging victims to
come forth and report on those crimes in the spirit of
confidentiality and justice. Concomitantly, the
Government has further adopted several gender-
sensitive policies and frameworks in pursuance of
Security Council resolution 1325 (2000).
Post-conflict reconstruction and development
require all Liberians to participate in the ongoing
recovery and sustainable development efforts. The
Government is therefore promoting and encouraging
women’s involvement at the leadership level and in all
other spectrums of society, with emphasis on the
education of the girl child.
In this connection, I wish to refer to the
International Colloquium on Women’s Empowerment,
Leadership Development, International Peace and
Security, which was co-convened by the President of
Liberia, Her Excellency Madam Ellen Johnson Sirleaf,
and the President of Finland, Her Excellency Madam
Tarja Halonen, in Monrovia on 7 and 8 March 2009. At
that event, the Monrovia Declaration was adopted,
calling for action on resolution 1325 (2000) on women,
peace and security, and on climate change and gender.
We want to thank all our partners and friends of the
international community, including the institutions of
the United Nations system and UNMIL, who
contributed to the success of the programme.
In that regard, we reaffirm that resolution 1325
(2000) on women, peace and security recognizes that
women, as civilians in conflict situations, are not only
victims but also powerful agents for peace and the
security for their communities.
We also recognize that Security Council
resolution 1820 (2008) is an important component of
resolution 1325 (2000) with regard to rape and sexual
violence against women and girls. Therefore, we
recommend that the Secretary-General appoint a
special envoy on women, peace and security who
would galvanize Member States to implement
resolution 1325 (2000) and ensure that the path
towards its tenth anniversary is well prepared in a
coherent manner.
As a follow-up to the Monrovia extraordinary
meeting, a side event to this sixty-fourth session of the
General Assembly was jointly hosted yesterday by
those two exemplary women leaders, here at United
Nations Headquarters, to focus on the implementation
of resolution 1325 (2000) and climate change. In
commending them for their excellent work, we join in
their appeal to all Member States, Governments and
non-governmental organizations to support the
Monrovia Declaration. Liberia wishes to thank all the
participants at that historic event for renewing their
support of the Government of Liberia and for reform of
the United Nations system, including the urgent need
for gender equality in its organs and related agencies.
Liberia’s economic revitalization is shaping up to
become a post-conflict success story, due to the
combination of the disciplined leadership and prudent
policies of Her Excellency President Ellen Johnson-
Sirleaf and the very constructive partnership with the
international community. We remain cognizant of the
fact that no amount of foreign assistance can transform
a nation in the absence of sound moral leadership and
technical competencies and of the commitment to
improve the well-being of its citizens. It is out of this
realization that we formulated the Government’s
poverty reduction strategy and have cultivated a
strategic partnership with friendly countries and
organizations within the international community.
The country experienced 7 per cent growth in
2008 and is expected to register 5 per cent this year,
largely as a result of the negative impact of the global
economic meltdown on demand for our major
commodities and decreased capital inflows. National
revenue collection rose by 25 per cent last year. We
have improved our business and investment climate by
establishing the “One Stop Shop” concept to spur
private sector growth and create jobs.
We have rehabilitated a total of 674 miles of
primary and secondary roads to link communities that
were isolated from the central administration as a result
of the 14-year civil crisis. A robust and comprehensive
09-52470 26
civil service reform strategy has been instituted as a
critical component of the public sector reform.
Moreover, the President has promulgated a policy of
mandatory free and compulsory primary education,
with a special emphasis on girls, who are often victims
of institutionalized bias and abuse.
We have undertaken several economic reform
initiatives and have set up the Liberia Anti-Corruption
Commission to create a transparent and predictable
business and investment climate as well as to
encourage greater foreign direct investment.
Liberia has also made noticeable progress
towards reaching the targets for relief under the
Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Debt Initiative.
Qualifying under this process will open up the country
to borrowing on the international financial markets and
accepting loans.
While Liberia has made and continues to make
impressive progress towards consolidating peace, the
gains remain fragile. In post-conflict situations such as
ours, stability is linked to development. Weak
institutional capacity in the area of the rule of law,
coupled with the absence of employment opportunities,
especially for the youth, continue to threaten sustained
progress.
As we expect to hold general elections in 2011,
successful conduct of these undertakings will set the
nation firmly on the path of stability and democracy. It
is therefore envisioned that continued, sustainable
socio-economic development will serve as the catalyst
for a smooth electoral process.
The Mano River Union countries of Liberia,
Sierra Leone, Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire continue to
host significant numbers of each other’s refugees in the
subregion. For instance, more than 65,000 Liberian
refugees are reportedly spread throughout West Africa,
posing humanitarian challenges that require urgent
action for cross-border movements. This is why we
continue to urge the fast-tracking and relaxation of the
stringent conditions for development assistance, if
Liberia is to truly remain a model for post-conflict
reconstruction and democracy.
In this connection, Liberia requires the empathy
and support of the international community for its
young democracy as it improves the human rights
situation, transparency, anti-corruption and good
governance, which are important priorities of the
Government.
In this vein, we wish to express the heartfelt
gratitude of the Government and people of Liberia to
the Security Council for extending the mandate of
UNMIL for another year and further requesting it to
provide a conducive security environment for the
holding of general and presidential elections in 2011.
The crucial nature of this democratic transition cannot
be overemphasized as we commend the gallant men
and women of UNMIL for their courageous and
sacrificial services in keeping the peace.
The issue of cross-border movement mentioned
above demonstrates that the security and stability of
the countries of the Mano River Union subregion are
inextricably linked and that progress in one country
cannot be divorced from progress in any one of the
member States. Elections are soon to be held in
Côte d’Ivoire and Guinea. As Chair of the Mano River
Union and a member of the International Contact
Group on Guinea, President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is
urging the United Nations and the international
community to stay constructively engaged with Guinea
while urging adherence to the original agreement so as
to ensure a smooth transition to democratic rule in that
country.
Cross-border movements among the Mano River
Union countries have become more complex and
problematic due to the growing number of cases
involving illicit drug trafficking, human trafficking and
other organized transnational crime in the West African
subregion and beyond. These problems necessitate the
urgent need for collective international action to tackle
these criminal activities, which are a menace to
regional peace and security.
Liberia supports the decision of the leaders of the
Southern African Development Community on the
lifting of United Nations sanctions against Zimbabwe.
We are encouraged that the power-sharing agreement
between the parties continues to hold as the country
tries to recover.
As regards Somalia, we note with regret the
continuing deterioration of the situation in that country.
In view of the unfortunate state of affairs there, Liberia
calls for renewed commitment by the international
community to provide logistical and financial support
to the African Union peacekeeping initiatives to restore
peace in that country. Liberia, as a beneficiary of
27 09-52470
peacekeeping operations, registers its strong
condemnation of the recent barbaric killings of
17 African Union peacekeepers in Somalia.
On Darfur, we are heartened by the expressed
willingness of all the parties to end armed hostilities
and to find a political solution to the problem that will
ensure lasting peace for all people in that region.
Liberia welcomes the just-ended Summit on
Climate Change convened by the Secretary-General.
We firmly believe that urgent action is needed to
reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to help all
Member States, particularly developing countries,
adequately respond to the harmful effects of this global
phenomenon.
Liberia continues to join in the call for a
democratic Security Council that reflects the realities
of the twenty-first century. The world today is far
different from and more complex than that of the
1940s, when this Organization came into being.
Liberia supports peacekeeping operations to put
out the flames of war. However, we wish to underscore
the benefits of establishing an early warning
mechanism that will deal with potentially explosive
situations before they escalate into full blown
conflagrations that present only ghastly choices.
Additionally, it is important that the international
community provides special assistance and
dispensation to post-conflict countries to shield them
from shocks in the worldwide system, such as the
current global financial crisis. These upsets often have
the effect of reversing the gains made in restoring
peace to countries emerging from conflict.
That is why Liberia welcomes the empathy and
support of the international community in rebuilding its
institutions destroyed by protracted civil conflict. The
current global financial crisis is impregnated with the
potential to undermine donor support to our national
renewal agenda, thus threatening much needed foreign
direct investment and delivery of social services.
The result of the Government’s inability to
provide these basic services to its people has the
propensity to provide fertile ground for acts of
destabilization from internal and external sources. It is
cheaper to prevent these risks than to have to mobilize
already diminishing resources at much higher cost,
sometimes involving human lives and enormous
resources, to react to them.
In conclusion, we pledge our unstinting support
to your leadership and entertain the hope that together,
we can advance the cause of humanity and make the
world truly a better place to live.