Liberia, 2010

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.