Liberia Expresses Gratitude TO UN: As Security Council Delegation Makes Assessment Visit

When Liberians rained terror on one another like zombies and destroyed their infrastructure at a point, and regrettably everything had fallen apart, the United Nations stood by the country not only as a global body but also a friend in need. In the advent of the untold bloodletting, the UN dispatched  UNMIL in September 2003 to rescue the hopeless people of Liberia, a mission that succeeded as evident by what Liberia is today. Writes Adolphus Mawolo

President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has expressed hope that within the next three years, security institutions in the country will be able to take charge of the security of the country.
In 2003, the UN Security Council approved a sixteen thousand strong peacekeeping mission for Liberia, one of the largest deployments by the world  body to salvage the nearly two decades of civil war.

Addressing journalists over the weekend at the Foreign Ministry following meeting with members of the UN Security Council delegation to the country headed by United States Ambassador to the United Nations, Susan Rice, President Sirleaf highlighted the plight of the country and said that the government is working on building the capacity of its institutions to fill in the gap in the absence of the multi-national peacekeeping force.
The UN high power delegation comprising of fifteen members arrived in the country on Saturday, May 19, to review progress in the implementation of the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).
According to the Liberian Leader, the team was also in the country to see the progress that the country has made since the end of the war and to also understand some of the challenges confronting it.
“We outlined the challenges relating to youth, to infrastructure, to reconciliation, and shared with them the progress we have made and our plans for our long term vision,” President Sirleaf said.

President Sirleaf expressed happiness over the exchange with the delegation and said that it is her hope that the team will leave Liberia recognizing Liberia’s progress, potentials as well as challenges.
For her part, US Ambassador to the United Nations and head of the delegation, Susan Rice applauded Liberia for the considerable progress that it has made since the end of war.
“Even over a longer period of time, it’s quite evident that Liberia has made considerable progress since the end of the civil war,” Ambassador Rice said.
The UN Security Council head of delegation said it is the hope of the council that Liberia will remain on the path of progress. She also thanked Liberians for the successful election in 2011 and for adopting an ambitious national development and economic agenda.
Ambassador Rice also said that the Council also looks forward to the government to develop the skills and job prospects of the young people who she said were mostly affected by the war.

The UN Security Council delegation also encouraged Liberia to address the security challenges and to continue to build the capacity of the justice and security sector.
Following the teams’ visit to Liberia, they  will go to the Côte d’Ivoire to continue their trip, where they will meet President Alassane Ouattara and representatives of that country’s National Assembly. They will also travel to Guiglo in the west of the country, where they will be briefed on the security and humanitarian  issues.
At the end of the visit to Guiglo, the delegation will return to Abidjan in Côte d’Ivoire, where the Council members are due to hold a meeting with the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) to discuss regional issues.

The delegation will travel from Côte d’Ivoire to Sierra Leone, the last country on its three-country trip. There the delegation will meet with President Ernest Bai Koroma an  hold a roundtable meeting with  political parties.


Pres. Sirleaf with Amb. Susan Rice (left) Head of Security Council Delegation and Members