Liberia, 1998

I bring the Assembly

greetings from President Charles Taylor and the

Government and the people of Liberia.

On behalf of the delegation of Liberia and in my

own name, I convey my sincere congratulations to

Mr. Opertti on his assumption of the presidency of the

General Assembly at its fifty-third session. His unanimous

election to this high office is a credit not only to him but

also to his esteemed country. I assure him of my

delegation?s fullest support and cooperation and wish him

every success in the discharge of his duties.

I should like also to register my delegation?s

appreciation to the President?s distinguished predecessor,

Mr. Hennadiy Udovenko, the then Minister for Foreign

Affairs of Ukraine, for the able manner in which he

conducted the work of the fifty-second session. The many

successes achieved during his tenure of office, especially

in the reform of this Organization, attest to his diplomatic

skills and his understanding of the problems which

confront the Organization and our determined efforts to

build a more just and humane international order that is

responsive to the legitimate aspirations of all mankind.

We offer special thanks to our Secretary-General,

Mr. Kofi Annan, for his unrelenting pursuit of the

implementation of the mandates entrusted to him by the

Assembly. My delegation also commends him for his

efforts aimed at the successful execution of the

administrative reforms of the Secretariat, and the

important focus he has placed on development,

peacemaking and peace-building efforts, especially in

Africa, as the most assured basis for sustainable

development.

The Secretary-General?s report (A/52/871) on the

causes of conflict and the promotion of durable peace and

sustainable development in Africa provides an in-depth

analysis of the social and economic ills of the Continent,

which was thoroughly discussed at the ministerial meeting

of the Security Council. We fully agree with his assertion

that while African Governments must ultimately be held

responsible for the problems confronting their countries,

meaningful steps must be taken by this Organization to lend

support to national measures aimed at alleviating these

problems.

In this connection, it is notable that on 6 October

1998, the United Nations will observe the fiftieth

anniversary of the establishment of its peacekeeping

operations. Africa continues to benefit from the United

Nations peacekeeping operations aimed at the resolution of

conflicts on the continent pursuant to Chapter VIII of the

Charter. While welcoming this cooperation, Liberia calls

upon the Security Council to employ impartiality and non-

selectivity in the execution of its primary role of

maintaining international peace and security.

The international political situation continues to be

characterized by sustained efforts aimed at the maintenance

of international peace and security. While there has been no

major eruption of military confrontation between States,

intra-State conflicts and civil wars in Angola, the

Democratic Republic of the Congo, Guinea-Bissau, the

Sudan and Kosovo, and the territorial dispute between

Ethiopia and Eritrea have claimed the attention of regional

and subregional organizations such as the Southern African

Development Community (SADC), the Economic

Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the North

Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the European Union

and the Organization of African Unity (OAU).

These organizations and regional bodies are

endeavouring, with the complementary support of the

United Nations, to seek negotiated peaceful solutions and to

minimize the humanitarian crises, refugee flows and

internal displacement caused by conflicts and wars.

With regard to the Middle East, my delegation is

deeply concerned about the lack of progress, particularly in

connection with the Madrid Conference and the Oslo

accords. We are of the view that new initiatives should be

undertaken to restart the peace process, focusing on the

understanding reached by the parties. Liberia will support

renewed efforts by the international community that seek

to bring the volatile situation in that region to a fair and

equitable conclusion.

The rise in acts of terrorism threatens the

independence, sovereignty, freedom, economic and social

development of all States. It cannot be overemphasized

that terrorism has no justification as a means to solve

political differences. Therefore, the Government of

Liberia strongly condemns the bombings in Dar-es-

Salaam, Tanzania and Nairobi, Kenya. It is imperative

that concerted actions be taken to combat this

unwholesome phenomenon which has no bounds. Liberia

is in accord with the proposal of President Hosni

Mubarak of Egypt for the convening of an international

conference on terrorism to deliberate on the issue.

The world is faced with the frightening prospect of

an increase in the number of States with nuclear

capability, as well as the proliferation of conventional

weapons. We therefore call for more States to accede to

the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

(NPT) and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty

(CTBT). There is an urgent need to curtail the trafficking

in small arms and to promote greater transparency in

arms transfers.

The scourge of the worldwide drug problem

necessitated the convening of the drug summit in New

York in June of this year. It is a source of concern that

drug sales have overtaken trade in other commodities, and

the money value of this illegal act has reached over $400

billion annually. My Government reaffirms its

commitment to tackling the drug problem within its

borders and to cooperating at the regional and

international levels in keeping with the Political

Declaration and the guiding principles outlined at the

conclusion of the summit.

The 1990s have been declared an era of

globalization. However, the rapid growth of international

trade and financial flows has affected most economies in

profound ways. Globalization threatens the weak and

vulnerable by marginalizing them in the global economic

system.

For most developing countries, the debt overhang

and unequal participation in the regulation of commodity

pricing, declining official development assistance and

capital flows are perennial problems that hamper their

economic development and integration into the world

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economy. My delegation therefore joins in the call for the

industrialized countries to bring about equity in the

regulatory framework for the financial and exchange

markets.

In this connection, Liberia reaffirms its support for the

position of the Non-Aligned Movement summit, held

recently in Durban, South Africa, that developed countries

be urged to accelerate the review of the world financial

system, thus ensuring that capital flows were supportive of

expansion in trade, employment and development. In

addition, there is the need to boost development aid from

Western countries and to remove restrictive conditions

linked to receiving international assistance.

In particular, my Government welcomes the call by

President William Clinton of the United States of America

for a meeting in Washington, D.C., in mid-October of this

year, of finance ministers and central bank governors from

nations of the G-7 and emerging economies to debate steps

to shore up the tottering global financial system. His

reaffirmation of this proposal, as well as his pledge made

to this Assembly on 21 September last, to forge a

partnership with Africa, deserves our commendation and

support. Also, we cannot agree more with the Secretary-

General that the United Nations should be included in the

discussion. Its participation will give more international

credibility to the decisions that would emerge from the

meeting.

Even though recent indicators point to improvement in

the economies of several African countries, the vast

majority continue to experience negative growth. The

largest number of least developed countries are in Africa,

and the crippling effects of the heavy external debt and

decline in investment and financial flows have been major

contributors to the poor economic performance of these

countries. There is a need for concerted international action

to remedy this state of affairs. The United Nations system-

wide support for the development of Africa is a step in the

right direction.

My delegation welcomes the recent decision of the

substantive session of the Economic and Social Council,

held in July of this year, and the Council?s ministerial

communiqué on market access for exports from least

developed countries, as well as capacity-building and in-

service infrastructure development. These decisions deserve

full support and should be implemented by Member States.

In this connection, the important initiative taken by the

Government of Japan, a prominent member of the G-7, to

urgently address Africa?s development has the highest

commendation of my Government and the appreciation of

all African States. My delegation looks forward to

actively participating in the important ministerial meeting

which will be convened in Tokyo next month on Africa?s

economic recovery. Moreover, this initiative deserves the

wholehearted support of Member States of this

Organization, particularly the developed countries.

My delegation notes with satisfaction the efforts by

the United Nations to harmonize the issues of

development and the environment. With respect to the

environment, the decision reached on Agenda 21 during

the 1992 Rio Conference is the most comprehensive effort

undertaken by the international community to raise

awareness of the degradation of the environment and the

need to reverse the negative trend. We trust that the issue

of the environment will remain a priority on the global

agenda.

One important and unquestionable achievement for

our Organization to celebrate is the great improvement in

the universal character of the Organization. Nevertheless,

more efforts must be deployed to ensure that every

country becomes a member of this Organization. My

delegation believes that in that regard, the exceptional

situation of the Republic of China on Taiwan must be

examined with a view to the unification of the Chinese

people based on their own will and decision. However,

we also believe that it is the responsibility of this

Organization to provide the impetus for the unification of

the two Chinas. History is replete with examples of the

membership in this Organization of divided countries,

where unification was peacefully settled under the aegis

of the United Nations. We have confidence in the ability

of the United Nations to allow history to be repeated on

a similar matter of grave importance to this Organization.

In the interest of equity and the maintenance of regional

peace and security, my country calls for the parallel

representation in the United Nations of the People?s

Republic of China and the Republic of China on Taiwan.

The matter of reform is one that needs no

justification. It is an imperative for the continued

relevance of the United Nations. An Organization made

up of 185 Member States must, by its nature, allow fair

play and democracy to prevail, and not the rule of

weighted influence. The tenets of the United Nations

Charter do not submit to the principle of “might makes

right”, but to the enlightened principles of international

law which emerge from the objective need for peaceful

coexistence. Unless the powerful States recognize this

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imperative, the international system will move towards

international anarchy rather than towards a more humane,

peaceful and stable world order.

These reforms will be meaningless unless parallel

reforms can be achieved within the Bretton Woods

institutions, the very essence of weighted and undemocratic

global influence.

On the question of increase in the membership of the

Security Council, Liberia reaffirms its support for an

increase for Africa and other under-represented regions on

the basis of equitable geographical representation, consistent

with the decisions of the Organization of African Unity and

the Non-Aligned Movement.

During the fifty-second session of the General

Assembly, it was my honour to read the prepared text of

Mr. Charles Taylor, President of the Republic of Liberia, to

this Assembly. At that time, only two months had passed

since his assumption of the leadership of Liberia, following

seven years of civil war and the holding of democratic

elections in the country.

Since then, the Government has undertaken measures

towards the rebuilding of the country, national

reconciliation, rehabilitation, repatriation and resettlement.

In light of this, from 19 July to 12 August 1998, the

people of Liberia participated in a national conference to

deliberate on the future of Liberia under the theme “Vision

2024”. This historic undertaking not only reaffirmed

President Taylor?s commitment to participatory democracy

but also afforded a unique opportunity for Liberians at

home and abroad to freely deliberate on and propose

solutions for the building of a new Liberia.

At the conclusion of the conference, a commission

was established and given the responsibility to seek full

implementation of the decisions reached. Those decisions

ranged from decentralization of the Government to the

enactment of legislation covering all facets of the society.

My Government has attached high priority to the

implementation of the decisions of the national conference,

since it has helped produce an agenda which complements

that of the Government and identifies issues and measures

as well as courses of action that could be adopted for the

stability and development of Liberia.

President Taylor is aware that the key to Liberia?s

stability and development lies in fostering genuine

reconciliation among Liberians. A human rights

commission established since the inception of the

Government continues to function. The protection of

human rights will remain one of the cornerstones of

Liberia?s domestic policy. This is why my Government

has now undertaken legislative action to ratify and accede

to all human rights instruments as a concrete attestation

of our commitment to promote and protect human rights

in Liberia.

Convinced that democracy is indispensable for

development, the Government has also undertaken

measures to realize its intention to build institutions to

consolidate the democratic process in the country. We

have encouraged the continued existence and growth of

the 13 political parties that participated in the last

elections. We hold regular consultations with these parties

concerning national issues. We believe that these efforts

are necessary for the dynamic development of a modern

Liberia. Meanwhile, international support remains a

necessity in order for Liberia to find its way forward and

consolidate the gains made by the return to civilian,

constitutional rule.

Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter vests the

Security Council with the authority to decide what

measures may be taken to maintain or restore

international peace and security, following a determination

of the existence of any threat to peace, breach of the

peace or act of aggression.

In a number of cases, the imposition of a sanctions

regime or embargo by the Council has yielded, with

minimal collateral harm, the results for which punitive

measures were authorized. However, in other cases,

sanctions have led to grave and intolerable humanitarian

crises which have deprived large numbers of innocent and

vulnerable persons, mainly women and children, of their

most basic needs, while not achieving their intended

objectives.

Within this context, the Government of Liberia

believes that any sanctions regime should clearly define

the punitive measure, its specific target, a definite time-

frame and exemptions to mitigate the unintended harmful

consequences for the whole population of a given country

and those of contiguous States.

In 1992, during Liberia?s civil war, the ECOWAS

subregional grouping imposed an arms embargo on

Liberia as a means to facilitate the peace process and

reduce the level of violence. ECOWAS also further

4

appealed to the Security Council to facilitate the universal

application of the embargo, an appeal the Security Council

heeded positively by adopting a resolution imposing an

arms embargo on Liberia.

By 1997, the Liberian civil war was brought to an end

through the process of a negotiated political settlement,

disarmament, demobilization and the holding of free and

fair democratic elections. After the inauguration of the

elected and constitutional Government, ECOWAS lifted all

sanctions and embargoes imposed against Liberia and called

upon the international community to do the same.

The Government of Liberia, since its assumption of

office, has repeatedly called upon the Security Council to

lift the arms embargo, an appeal that has fallen on deaf

ears. The Liberian Government has a constitutional

responsibility and a sovereign right to defend, protect and

preserve the independence and territorial integrity of the

Republic.

We strongly believe that the arms embargo currently

in force against Liberia is patently unfair since it is open-

ended and provides no criteria for the lifting of the

embargo, as has been the procedure in other, similar cases.

Moreover, the intent and purpose of the 1992 arms embargo

have been achieved by the peaceful resolution of the

Liberian civil crisis through the holding of democratic

elections in Liberia and the installation of the Government

headed by President Charles Taylor on 2 August 1997.

As a responsible member of the international

community, Liberia would accede to the wishes of the

Security Council if it were decided that there was

justification for the maintenance of sanctions against Liberia

based on concrete facts or a violation of international law

or covenants. However, to do so under a sanctions regime

that no longer has validity is unwarranted and inimical to

the interests of the country.

The Government of Liberia requests that the Security

Council take cognizance of Liberia?s legitimate aspirations

and constitutional obligation to its people. It should be

noted that in spite of the support of the Liberian people for

their Government, there may remain some disgruntled

citizens and external actors who seek to disturb the peace

and reverse the progress achieved thus far by capitalizing

on the perceived inability of the Government to adequately

protect itself because of the present arms embargo on the

country. For the Security Council to place a Member State

of this Organization in such an untenable position is

inimical to the interests of the Liberian Government and

people and inconsistent with the purposes and principles

of the United Nations.

The Government of Liberia calls on the Security

Council to impartially assume its responsibility under the

Charter by expeditiously redressing what is considered to

be an injustice to Liberia by lifting its 1992 arms

embargo, imposed on the country for the reasons already

mentioned.

At the threshold of the twenty-first century, it must

be recognized that the full achievement of the goals and

objectives of this Organization has been largely

undermined by the long period of the cold war. Its demise

held out the promise of a peace dividend that was to be

applied to the development activities of the United

Nations.

Regrettably, that is not the case today. However,

within a renewed, principled spirit of interdependence, the

international community can evolve an effective means of

partnership and cooperation to achieve equity in the areas

of economic development and social advancement as

necessary conditions for the maintenance of global peace

and security.

By so doing, we will have crafted a workable agenda

that will propel the human family into the new

millennium with the hope of a just world order that is

responsive to the needs of all inhabitants of our common

planet, as envisaged in the Charter.

Let me give the assurance that Liberia remains

committed to this basic goal in the same determined

manner as when it signed the Charter of the United

Nations in 1945.