One among four African founding UN Charter signatories, the west African nation of Liberia has called for the revitalization of multilateralism.

President Joseph Nyuma Boakai said Liberia was among only four African nations to sign the Charter 80 years ago and still believes that a peaceful world rests on international law, respect for human rights and dignity, and a commitment to development.

“Having risen from the ashes of conflict to become a resilient democracy, Liberia is living proof that dialogue can overcome division and that institutions can be built,” he said.

He called for urgent, structural reform of the international financial architecture with concessional financing, debt sustainability and predictable development capital, “not escalating interest rates that threaten survival.”

The reform’s heart must include a fairer voice and vote for developing countries at global financial institutions, he said.

“A financial system that decides the fate of billions cannot continue to be governed by so few,” he said, adding that reform is a precondition to deliver the Global Goals and restore the trust the Assembly is meeting to discuss.

He stressed that true reform, needed to make the Organization agile, efficient and accountable, must address its core structural issue.

Although Africa is home to 1.5 billion people and accounts for nearly one-third of UN membership and 80 per cent of Security Council mandates concern African peace and security, Africa remains without a single permanent seat on the organ responsible for global peace, he said.

“This historical injustice is no longer tenable,” he said, reaffirming his country's support for the Common African Position. 

Africa demands no fewer than two permanent seats, with all accompanying rights and responsibilities, including the veto so long as it exists, as well as additional non-permanent seats, he said. 

“Correcting this imbalance is not a favour to Africa; it is necessary to restore the United Nations' trust, credibility and legitimacy,” he said.

“Let us leave this Assembly committed to a United Nations that not only deliberates on crises but also resolves them, that restores trust through results, protects the vulnerable, honours the rights of all nations, and secures a peaceful planet for generations to come”, he concluded.