Women, Peace & Security
Source: Daily Observer
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf on Saturday, July 14, held talks with the new Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Mr. Jan Eliasson, in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa.
Speaking during the talks on the margins of the 19th Ordinary Session of the Assembly of the African Union (AU), the new Deputy Secretary-General expressed delight for the opportunity to meet with President Sirleaf and stressed the need for African Governments and leaders to work together on the integrated issues of peace and security, development and human rights.
Using Liberia as a case study on how those issues work for countries once broken by conflict, he said looking back at Liberia’s terrible past with great challenges, one could imagine that it took the great leadership style of President Sirleaf to have gotten the country back on its feet. He warned that directing development in a wrong and inappropriate direction will always bring worsening and disastrous effects on the people.
He congratulated the President for her preferment as one of the Co-Chairs on the High Level Panel of Eminent Persons to direct a process that will lead to the development of new goals and targets as the implementation period for the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), set to expire in 2015, draws near.
Mr. Eliasson said as a leader from the developing world who knows the plight of disadvantaged and poverty-stricken people, President Sirleaf has a chance to help establish new development goals for the world, but most significantly for Africa. “There is a need to work harder to find more practical goals that affect people’s lives,” he said.
He said the Panel, working with the established Secretariat, has a greater space to work and address the question of sustainability and development. Finding new goals after 2015 will not be about fighting poverty, he said, but ending extreme poverty. He stressed the need to draw civil society and other non-governmental bodies into the process.
On security in Liberia, the new Deputy Secretary-General reiterated to President Sirleaf that UNMIL’s drawdown from Liberia will be done carefully, taking into account minor reversals arising from the situation along the country’s border with its neighbor, Côte d'Ivoire.
He also commended the Liberian President for a strong leadership role in both ECOWAS and the Mano River Union, which has contributed immensely to fostering peace and security in both regions. He described the President as a strong voice and champion of democracy in the ECOWAS region.
The UN envoy paid tribute to the women of Africa; to President Sirleaf as the first female President on the continent; to Ambassador Marjon Kamara, for her leadership role as Chair of the Commission on the Status of Women; and Malawian President Joyce Banda, for following in the footsteps of President Sirleaf.
Responding, President Sirleaf welcomed the bilateral exchange with the new Deputy Secretary-General and said she was honored to be chosen as a Co-Chair on the High-Level Panel on the post-MDGs initiative.
She was anxiously looking forward to what comes out of Rio+20, and to know the full composition of the Panel, adding, “I hope it will be a balanced configuration that will enhance acceptance by all the peoples of the world.” President Sirleaf expressed the need to institute a rigorous and robust consultative process targeting all regions to ensure that what is derived comes from the people.
On peace and security issues, the Liberian President challenged the United Nations to adopt mechanisms and approaches that prevent conflict rather than seeking to always resolve crisis. She outlined factors such as poverty, exclusion and marginalization, human rights abuse, the undermining of democracy, among the many reasons for conflict in the world, particularly in Africa. “I therefore urge you to pay some attention to the sisterly nation of Sierra Leone as they move closer to the holding of elections,” President Sirleaf said.
There was no doubt, she said, about the relationship that exists between peace, security and development. “In most African nations where people are not empowered enough due to the lack of capacity, where unemployment is high, and where development is not forthcoming for complex reasons, insecurity looms,” President Sirleaf said. Finally, she commended the United Nations for its many contributions towards Liberia’s recovery and called for that engagement with Liberia to continue.
Earlier in the day, President Sirleaf received a courtesy call from the Special Representative of the President of the Russia Federation on Cooperation with Africa, Mr. Mikhail V. Margelow. He was accompanied by Sergey V. Tagashov, Executive Director, Corporate Communication of GPB Global Resources, and Boris Ivanov, Managing Director and CEO of GPB Global Resources. The delegation sought information on how it could help Liberia as the country continues with its recovery and rebuilding process.
In thanking the Special Representative for the visit, President Sirleaf informed the delegation that Liberia is an open country that welcomes international partners and groupings that are prepared to play by the rules and respect the laws of Liberia while exploring investment opportunities.