Liberia, 2003

I am honoured to

participate, on behalf of Mr. Moses Zeh Blah, President

of the Republic of Liberia, in the general debate of the

6

General Assembly at its fifty-eighth session, and to

congratulate you, Sir, on your election to the

presidency of the General Assembly at this session. I

express the confidence of the Government of Liberia

that you will faithfully honour the responsibilities

which you have been assigned.

I also wish to commend Mr. Jan Kavan of the

Czech Republic for the able manner in which he

steered the activities of the fifty-seventh session of the

General Assembly.

Undoubtedly, Mr. Kofi Annan deserves the

commendation of this Assembly for his stewardship of

our global Organization and the excellent leadership

which he exudes in the resolution of international

questions, ranging from terrorism to the deadly AIDS

pandemic and from poverty to the imbalance in global

trade and commerce.

We must also pay a special tribute to Sergio

Vieira de Mello and other United Nations workers who

lost their lives in selfless humanitarian service in Iraq.

Those citizens of the world embodied the spirit of the

United Nations and are true representatives of the

conscience of humanity.

Terrorism, the menace to international peace and

security, has brought immeasurable grief to the world.

Acts of terrorism have elicited neither the

understanding nor the empathy of the world for causes

to which terrorists may aspire. Contrarily, acts of

terrorism have rightly ignited widespread disdain and

revulsion for their perpetrators. Today, terrorism seeks

to undermine our collective freedom and therefore

requires our collective will and efforts to combat this

common enemy.

However, this objective is being undermined by

the lack of international consensus. The unwillingness

to garner and work along lines of international

consensus has exposed cracks in our efforts to fight

terrorism, bringing into scrutiny the structure of this

world body and the continued relevance of the Security

Council. When the Security Council appears divided on

fundamental questions of international security, the

world becomes vulnerable. A divided Security Council

fertilizes the grounds for the germination of

international terror and insecurity. If the Security

Council is to serve as the guarantor of international

peace and security, then that organ must of necessity be

guided by mechanisms that ensure the judicious

development of consensus and respect for and

adherence to international law.

Additionally, our united condemnation of and

fight against terrorism must never stoop to the

employment of methods not far removed from those

used by terrorists themselves. To fight fire with fire

will leave our global village without a single hut. We

must muster the will to tackle the issues that are

exploited by terrorists and terrorist organizations.

The conflict in the Middle East has inescapably

attracted the attention of the world, posing the greatest

challenge to international peace and security. We are

saddened by and deeply concerned about the recent

turn of events, which has occasioned the virtual

debunking of the road map for peace and ensured a

classic return to violence. Admittedly, there are serious

difficulties in the search for peace for our brothers and

sisters of that troubled region. However, these

difficulties should neither beset us with a sense of

hopelessness nor obscure the agonies and the fears that

have come to characterize the way of life in the Middle

East.

We therefore call on the Government of Israel and

the Palestinian Authority to recognize the right to

existence of each other within recognized international

borders and to foster pragmatic approaches to dialogue,

peace, security and the virtues of good-

neighbourliness. At the same time, we urge the

Security Council to develop, strengthen and maintain

international consensus on the way forward.

With respect to the Liberian crisis, since our last

address to this Assembly, Liberia has wrestled and

continues to wrestle with serious political and security

challenges. An insurgency that began four years ago

reached the Liberian capital, Monrovia. Unsurprisingly,

an already deteriorating humanitarian situation

worsened, accompanied by the widespread breakdown

of law and order. Regrettably, while recognizing the

intensification of the war in Liberia and the right of the

Liberian people to self-defence, the Security Council

maintained an arms embargo on the Government. This

situation catalysed the rapid advance of the insurgents

and bestowed upon their cause a false sense of

international approbation. The Liberian State teetered

on the verge of disintegration.

But for the resilience of the people of Liberia and

the timely intervention of the Economic Community of

West African States (ECOWAS) and the International

7

Contact Group on Liberia, Liberia would have slipped

into the abyss of unbridled anarchy. We will therefore

remain eternally grateful to ECOWAS, and particularly

to the Governments and peoples of the Federal

Republic of Nigeria and Ghana, for their leadership in

the quest to stabilize the situation in my country. In a

similar manner, the Government of Liberia expresses

immense gratitude to the Government of the United

States of America, the United Nations, the European

Union and the African Union for their respective roles

in and continued support for the ongoing efforts to

restore lasting peace, security and democracy to

Liberia. We must also pay special tribute to the support

of the Governments of South Africa and Mozambique.

On 11 August 2003, with the deployment of a

vanguard force from the friendly Government of the

Federal Republic of Nigeria, the promise of a smooth

transfer of power was remarkably fulfilled. This

development energized the signing, on 18 August in

Accra, Republic of Ghana, of a Comprehensive Peace

Agreement. The Agreement establishes a framework

for the formation and installation of a transitional

Government, the disarmament, demobilization and

reintegration of combatants and the restructuring of the

national security apparatus. It also provides for the

repatriation and resettlement of refugees and internally

displaced persons, the rebuilding of the nation’s

productive capacity and the creation of democratic

space for the conduct of free, fair and credible

elections in 2005. These goals cannot be achieved

without concerted multinational collaboration and

assistance.

The Government of Liberia welcomes the

adoption of Security Council resolution 1509 (2003),

which establishes the United Nations Mission in

Liberia. We pledge our cooperation and support to the

realization of the objectives set out in the resolution.

Comprehensive disarmament, demobilization and a

sustained programme of reintegration and resettlement

are sine qua non to peace, security and stability in

Liberia and the West African subregion. The

Government of Liberia is therefore beholden to the

international community, with gratitude for its

continuous assistance and support in the search for

peace and security in Liberia and the West African

subregion. However, unless democratic expressions

and aspirations are allowed to flourish through

strengthened democratic institutions, and unless an

alternative source of livelihood is provided the

disarmed combatants, the gains obtained through the

support of the international community could be

grievously undermined.

In this respect, resolution 1509 (2003), which

engenders new hope for Liberia, appears to be

contradicted by the demands of resolution 1343 (2001).

That resolution imposes and maintains a regime of

sanctions and other restrictions on Liberia. Unarguably,

economic sanctions imposed under resolution 1343

(2001) becloud Liberia with an undeserved stigma that,

in effect, discourages the flow of much-needed

international investment into the private sector to

support Liberia’s post-conflict reconstruction and

development programmes and restricts the essential

flow of energy needed to revive Liberia’s economic

infrastructure.

A vibrant private sector is the key to Liberia’s

recovery and the cure to problems of unemployment,

which provides stimulus to social unrest and political

instability. If sanctions, smart or targeted, are tools to

accomplish political objectives, then they must respond

affirmatively to the realization of the objectives. One

does not administer medication to a dead person nor

does one take medication to cure the illness of another.

The Government of Liberia therefore calls on the

Security Council to lift its regime of economic

sanctions imposed on the country.

In situations such as ours, international goodwill

and assistance are often accompanied by the temptation

to ignore indigenous expertise largely in favour of

expatriates. The net effect of adherence to such

temptation is the development of structures and

institutions that are neither manageable nor sustainable

by the beneficiaries after the departure of the

expatriates. Even so, Liberia is blessed with its share of

endowments in human and natural resources. As can be

expected, years of political turmoil, conflict and

mismanagement have resulted in the massive exodus of

Liberia’s human resources. Welcoming a new

opportunity to rebuild a more democratic, accountable

and coherent society, Liberians are desperate to return

home and contribute. To that end, it is the desire and

expectation of the Government and people of Liberia

that, as much as is possible, Liberians will be

employed at all levels in the post-conflict

reconstruction and rehabilitation of their country.

Liberia is a founding Member of this world body.

Irrespective of the current problems we face and our

8

need for international assistance, Liberia will remain a

respectable member of the international community.

We intend to uphold our sovereign dignity in the

conduct of international affairs. Liberia cannot and will

not be a subject of trusteeship.

Like most third-world nations, Liberia is deeply

indebted to several international financial institutions

and organizations. We are grateful to our creditors for

their patience and understanding. Determined as we are

to survive, we count on the empathy of the

international community to treat our indebtedness with

the uniqueness that it deserves and pledge our

commitment to working along with those institutions in

developing appropriate mechanisms to deal with

Liberia’s debt. Servicing these debts remains a priority

for the Government of Liberia. However, our capacity

to make payment is limited by manifold problems

occasioned by several years of continuous warfare.

I should now like to turn to the case of the

Republic of China. The General Assembly must

confront the moral and legal challenges posed by the

exclusion of more than 23 million people from

representation in this world body. How else are we to

explain the denial of the rights of a progressive and

industrious people from representation at the level of

the General Assembly? The fact remains that the

Government and people of the Republic of China on

Taiwan have, and continue to engage in, responsible

self-governance. It is incontestable that the people of

the Republic of China on Taiwan continue to

significantly contribute to the improvement of the

human family. Their achievements in the spheres of

science and technology, commerce and trade, and the

arts and culture cannot be ignored.

The undaunted spirit of the great people of the

Republic of China aspires to participate in the United

Nations. Liberia is convinced that the participation of

both sides of the Taiwan Strait in the activities of

international organizations will encourage greater

understanding and mutual trust between the two sides.

That is consistent with the spirit of preventive

diplomacy advocated by the United Nations. Liberia

therefore reiterates its call for the admission of the

Republic of China on Taiwan to the United Nations and

its specialized agencies, as well as the assumption of

its rightful place in the discourse and transaction of

world affairs.

In conclusion, Liberia is today in urgent need of

international assistance and support. While our

situation appears to be grim, it is certainly not

hopeless. While many of our compatriots may have lost

lives and limbs, we are still a forgiving people. While

our national infrastructure may have been destroyed,

we are still a resilient people. While our dignity may

have been impinged upon, we are still a proud people.

We Liberians are unified in our determination to work

for a better and brighter future. We are united in

fostering the faith of our founding fathers to build a

nation dedicated to freedom, liberty and justice for all.