New York/MONROVIA: Liberia’s President, Joseph Nyuma Boakai, has told the United Nations (UNGA), that his government is committed to implementing audit recommendations by the General Auditing Commission (GAC) to restore public and donor confidence in the governance system and improve regional and International Corporation.
President Boakai made the pronouncement on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, when he addresses the 79th Session the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
Addressing the session, President Boakai highlighted that the rule of law is fundamental for peace, justice, strong institutions and dignity for human persons.
He indicated that Liberia is making significant strides towards openness, transparency, accountability by empowering and supporting transparent institutions.
“Our government is committed to implementing audit recommendations by the GAC to restore public and donor confidence in the governance system and to improve regional and International cooperation,” he said.
According to him, Liberia has enjoyed uninterrupted peace for almost two decades following the 14 years of civil conflict.
The Liberian leader stated that since the end of the conflict, Liberia held four democratic elections with last year’s presidential election marking the fourth since the country returned to democratic order in 2006.
He mentioned that in January 2024, the country achieved a democratic milestone through peaceful transition.
He stressed that the transition progress is significant, because before the 2018 transition, the last democratic transition occurred in 1944, about 74 years earlier.
The Liberian leader told the UNGA that they are gradually fostering and solidifying the democratic culture, ensuring that democracy is in Liberia to stay.
“Now it is time for our people to reap the democracy dividends,” he added.
Additionally, he informed the 79th Session of the UNGA that the country has taken a major step in confronting discomfit past to ensure accountability and justice for crime and other human right violation committed during the war and promote healing and national reconciliation.
He said the significant development in the country’s transitional justice process was the signing of the Executive Order 122 on May 2, 2024, to create the office for the establishment of the War and Economic Crimes Court (WECC) for Liberia, a key recommendation by the erstwhile Liberia Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), process in the country.
President Boakai said his government’s action aimed at establishing the WECC is aligned with the
international convention on civil and political rights and against impunity.
He told world leaders that as his government embarks on the process of establishing the WECC, he acknowledges the enormous tasks ahead.
He sought the support of the UN, partners, and stakeholders in the persuade of justice for victims, peace, and reconciliation.
President Boakai told the UNGA that in the summer of 1945, Liberia joined other nations in San Francisco as one of the original signatories to the United Nations Charter and “on that fateful day, the world, having suffered the scourge of war, was full of hope and determined to reverse the past.”
President Boakai: “Nearly eighty years on, and reflecting on the Preamble of the United Nations Charter, which declares our commitment to ‘promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,’ we ask the question: has our reaffirmation of “faith … in the dignity and worth of the human person …” made eight decades ago been realized?
We must admit that the world has changed and the frontiers that we now embrace are different.
Innate greed, insensitivity to the poor, the international drug epidemic, money launderings, dynamics of climate change and the impact of social media must compel us to rethink our approach to global peace and security.
Our beloved United Nations must undergo the institutional and philosophical reflections required to respond to this new age.
As we assemble under the theme, ‘Unity in Diversity for the Advancement of Peace, Sustainable Development, and Human Dignity for Everyone Everywhere.’ It is important to recognize the shared values and collective efforts that come from our unity within diversity.
We must acknowledge these as essential for advancing peace, sustainable development, and the inherent dignity of every human being worldwide.
By doing so, we can build a better world where no one is left behind. Like many nations gathered at this assembly, Liberia re-commits to the Sustainable Development Goals,” the President said: Writes Linda Gbartie.
