Calls on the UN to take swift action on global crises.
New York, USA – In his address to the 80th Session of the UN General Assembly on Tuesday, President Joseph Nyuma Boakai called upon the international community to take “coordinated and urgent” action to safeguard humanity, bring atrocity perpetrators accountable, and support mediation efforts.
Using Liberia’s war and recovery experience as a backdrop, President Boakai using the theme, “Better Together: 80 Years and More for Peace, Development, and Human Rights,” emphasized the need for international cooperation in the face of escalating crises.
“To protect civilians, bring atrocity perpetrators accountable, and bolster mediation efforts, we urge the international community to take swift, coordinated action.”
Boakai informed foreign leaders that Liberia, which has emerged from the ashes of civil war, is all too familiar with the human cost of violence and the value of peace.
“Following more than three decades of turmoil, instability, and devastation, Liberia has undergone three peaceful and orderly democratic transitions since 2003, each characterized by seamless handovers of power, making our country safer, more stable, and more secure.”
Liberia’s own internal conflicts sparked a catastrophic 14-year civil war that devastated much of the country’s infrastructure and economy, killed an estimated 250,000 people, and displaced hundreds of thousands more. In 2003, the issue was finally resolved through a concerted effort by the international community.
Africa’s oldest sovereign nation, Liberia, has long been a major player on the global scene. It was one of the original members of ECOWAS, the Organization of African Unity (now the African Union), and the United Nations. The nation also supported African nations’ independence during the colonial era, and prominent freedom fighters and Pan-Africanists like Dr. Kwame Nkrumah and Nelson Mandela found refuge on its shores.
