Liberia, 2009

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

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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

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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

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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.