New York, USA – At the 80th United Nations General Assembly, Madam Sara Beysolow Nyanti, Liberia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, participated in a high-level panel discussion on asylum and refugee status on Thursday alongside world leaders.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Christopher Landau organized the event, which had as its theme “The Global Refugee and Asylum System: What Went Wrong and How to Fix It.”
Minister Nyanti emphasized that while sovereignty is important, it must coexist with shared responsibility in resolving migration and asylum, drawing on both her humanitarian expertise and Liberia’s own history of displacement.
Reflecting on Liberia’s own history, when its citizens sought safety in neighboring nations during civil war, she raised attention to Africa’s frequently disregarded issue of intercontinental displacement.
“Sovereignty is important, but it cannot be the only factor,” she said. Minister Nyanti emphasized Africa’s frequently underreported experience with cross-border displacement and recalled how Liberians had sought asylum in other countries during the civil conflicts, saying that “global concerns require solidarity and collective response.”
In order to ensure that young people can find financial security at home rather than being forced to leave, Minister Nyanti called for stronger frameworks for labor mobility, a clear distinction between economic migration and asylum, and solutions based on solidarity, humanitarian obligation, and economic opportunity.
She also emphasized that the core reason of migration is addressed by economic diplomacy that is based on a vision for job development.
Her remarks encapsulated both the urgent need for international cooperation to reform the refugee system as well as Liberia’s journey from catastrophe to stability. Before being named by President Boakai, Minister Nyanti held numerous high-level positions at the UN, including that of Special Representative to South Sudan for the UN Secretary-General.
She demanded strong foundations for labor mobility, solutions based on solidarity, humanitarian duty, and economic opportunity, and a clear differentiation between economic migration and asylum. Liberia Foreign Minister emphasized the importance of job development and economic diplomacy, stating that the most durable strategy to lessen forced migration is to promote domestic financial stability.
Ambassador Nyanti’s action coincides with Liberia’s successful election this year and its readiness to take office as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in January 2026.
