YouSaid · the spoken record

Johnson-Sirleaf

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16
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2021-09-08
most recent
2021-09-08
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1
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un-security-council

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  1. “We believe that, with such a change — with more equity in the composition of the Security Council — we will have more successes in meeting the global purpose of our world for its existence. It is time for the Council to change. It is hard to adopt change, but it is necessary for the success of a better world.”

    2021-09-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8851 (2021) · source

  2. “The change we seek is a change we must believe in so as to ensure that it occurs. Nowhere is that reality more pronounced than around the Security Council table, which holds the power of the world. As an African, I cannot conclude without taking this opportunity to address this important organ of the United Nations and to remind it of the common sense position of the African Union, as expressed in the Ezulwini Consensus, for the improved and increased full representation of Africa and other countries and regions of our world on the Security Council. Not only does Africa deserve such consideration for permanent representation, but it is also among the regions generally requiring peacekeeping operations.”

    2021-09-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8851 (2021) · source

  3. “Finally, our world is embattled with the devastating effects of the coronavirus disease pandemic and current challenges of climate change. Under these two broad canopies, global inequities and injustices are being exposed. Multilateralism has been under threat. Indeed, we face the urgency of acting together, more inclusively, to confront the realities of our changing world. Indeed, our world continues to change. The nature of conflicts and challenges to our peaceful cohabitation on Mother Earth have changed. How we pursue conflict resolution in existing conflicts and how we prevent conflicts where they seem likely to occur remain one of the biggest challenges for the Council, in my humble and considered view. The important mandate of maintaining international peace and security must also change.”

    2021-09-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8851 (2021) · source

  4. “As Liberia proved, when the two are enabled to work together and deliver as one, the overall margin for success of a peacekeeping mission is considerably higher and a return to conflict is considerably lower. I thank the Secretary-General for effecting the necessary changes in that regard. I also thank the Security Council for recognizing the value of, and providing better support for, peacebuilding commissions through assessed contributions. Peacebuilding helps countries prevent conflicts. Perhaps we need to more closely consider some regions of the world for early engagement in peace and conflict resolution. Close to $8 billion was spent on peacekeeping operations in Liberia. With a new focus, we might spend less in preventing new conflicts in countries like Cameroon and Myanmar, where the warning sounds are growing louder and louder.”

    2021-09-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8851 (2021) · source

  5. “Invariably, the breakdown in the capacities of institutions to fairly and justly seek adherence to, and enforcement of, the rule of law are flashpoints for triggering new conflicts or igniting old ones. Transition planning must therefore ensure both a responsible, orderly drawdown of United Nations troops and that the national Government and its security sector are prepared to stand up for and protect all inhabitants, especially civilians, under a fully owned new programme, with active citizen participation at various levels on the rule-of-law continuum. This highlights the importance of integrating peacebuilding quite early in peacekeeping intervention planning.”

    2021-09-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8851 (2021) · source

  6. “It must also be said that the experience of the active participation of women in the peacekeeping operations in Liberia offered Liberian women a needed sense of renewed hope for the Mission’s success, as well as the opportunity to exchange experiences, leading to changes in attitudes and long-held perceptions about the value of women. That brought about a renewed appreciation of women in Liberia. Even if that did not necessarily translate into complete trust, their presence inspired some measure of confidence, especially when the Blue Helmets were no longer around. Memories of that still linger. One of the milestones of transition planning must be the institutional measure of reforms of national security and the rule of law.”

    2021-09-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8851 (2021) · source

  7. “Specific measurable activities, including with civil society organizations, as well as women and youth groups, ought to be developed, supported, monitored and reported on as part of a mission’s overall intervention report to the Council. As many have rightfully observed, restoring and sustaining peace is more than silencing the guns and disarming belligerents and/or ex-combatants. It extends to enabling the conflicted society to deal successfully and sustainably with the drivers of conflict long after the process has ended and long after the peacekeeping mission is officially closed. In order to do that effectively, the Council may consider practical and measurable indicators that will register deliberate engagement involving all the relevant stakeholders of a society, especially civil society, women, youth and minorities.”

    2021-09-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8851 (2021) · source

  8. “The Security Council must continuously re-examine and assess opportunities for more successful models of peacekeeping operations and meet its global responsibility to maintain international peace and security — but not necessarily in a one-size-fits-all jacket, as the colour and the helmet remain universally recognizable as Blue Helmets. It is therefore critical for successful transitions that the peacekeeping process be nationally owned, integrated, coherent and sustainable. A successful transition goes a long way to actually defining a mission’s overall success. One way the Security Council can support those important ingredients for success is to include them in a mission’s mandate and further require that they be considered in the regular briefings and update reports of a mission to the Council.”

    2021-09-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8851 (2021) · source

  9. “Yet I am pleased to report that today, more than three years since the final withdrawal of UNMIL from Liberia, on 30 March 2018, our country remains largely at peace with itself and with its neighbours. Moreover, Liberia is proud that it contributes a contingent to the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali. On behalf of the people of Liberia, I thank all Member States, and particularly the Security Council, for the support extended to Liberia when we desperately needed it.”

    2021-09-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8851 (2021) · source

  10. “An UNMIL report says it squarely — the challenges faced in the country were nothing short of daunting, to lead a country exhausted from three decades of civil strife, with destroyed infrastructure, a collapsed economy, a non-existent security sector and State institutions capable of providing basic services to its people. To add to those challenges, the country faced a sharp decline in the economy from the effects of Ebola and the loss of significant financial support in the withdrawal of peacekeeping forces. That suggests the need for transition plans to recognize the specificities and special circumstances of countries, particularly in post-conflict situations and to have flexibility in those plans to address such conditions, despite the fact that the prime responsibility is that of the Government.”

    2021-09-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8851 (2021) · source

  11. “In her remarks in Liberia on the occasion of the closure of Mission, the Deputy Secretary-General referenced the plans of the Secretary-General to enable the whole United Nations system to deliver as one — more coherently, cooperatively and in a more integrated manner, with timely support to national Governments. We thank the Secretary-General for those reforms, now in the One United Nations system. I am pleased to report that today, the United Nations system in Liberia functions as he had envisioned and operates more coherently, while ensuring more effective relationships, integrated support and productive partnerships with national stakeholders. However, I would be less than honest if I were to say that operations were fault-free.”

    2021-09-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8851 (2021) · source

  12. “That was due to the strong support of Liberia’s international development partners, such as the United States, Sweden, India, Ireland and the European Union. We deeply thank the Government of India for the inclusion and involvement of an Indian women contingent, which had a positive impact on the Liberian Government’s efforts to attract women to the country’s security system. We commend the efforts made during the period of the Mission’s mandate for coherence and cooperation across the United Nations system with regional and international partners.”

    2021-09-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8851 (2021) · source

  13. “Members may recall that over a 15-year period, the United Nations Mission in Liberia was, at some point, classified among the largest deployments of peacekeepers in the world, consisting of up to 15,000 military personnel. At its peak, 180,000 peacekeepers, 16,000 police officers and more than 24,000 civilian staff worked at various times over the period of war. UNMIL is viewed nationally, regionally and internationally as successful. The success was due in large part to strong regional support and engagement with the 15 member States of ECOWAS. The Council may recall it was the regional body that first constituted the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group, which transformed into the ECOWAS Mission in Liberia that became the progenitor of UNMIL.”

    2021-09-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8851 (2021) · source

  14. “While costly, in terms of lives and resources, it is important that peacekeeping interventions be viewed as successful, not only in restoring security but also in enabling sustainable peace. It is worth noting the tremendous contributions made by the States Members of the United Nations, especially working with the Security Council, to guarantee the continued success of the United Nations in its peacekeeping and peacebuilding roles. We are of the firm conviction that true peace must really be in the hearts of men and women of any nation. It is important for the peoples of any war-ravaged country to adopt peace afterwards as a way of life. With the Council’s indulgence, I will now turn to Liberia.”

    2021-09-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8851 (2021) · source

  15. “I am honoured today to respond to the request to brief the Security Council on the important consideration of transitioning in peacekeeping, and to share this opportunity with His Excellency the Secretary-General. I thank the Secretary-General for the leadership he has demonstrated in reforming United Nations peacekeeping. As a former President of a country that shares common borders and strong friendships, I start with Guinea, pointing to the condemnation of the coup d’état by the leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the commitment to a democratic society dedicated to constitution adherence and the rule of law. As the global guardian of the world, peacekeeping intervention by the Security Council continues to be most sought after in parts of the world that are conflict- prone.”

    2021-09-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8851 (2021) · source

  16. “Mrs. Johnson-Sirleaf: Please allow me to stand on the existing protocols and congratulate you, Madam President, and through you, the Government and the people of Ireland, on your country’s assumption of the leadership of the Security Council for the month of September. May I also thank the Government and the people of India for their leadership of the Council for the month of August. Interestingly, both Ireland and India, and many other nations represented around the table, contributed troops to the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). I and all Liberians are forever grateful to the friendly countries, Governments and peoples.”

    2021-09-08 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.8851 (2021) · source