COMMON STRATEGY NEEDED FOR FINAL PHASE OF PEACE PROCESS IN LIBERIA, SECRETARY-GENERAL TELLS MINISTERIAL MEETING
Press Release
SG/SM/6162
COMMON STRATEGY NEEDED FOR FINAL PHASE OF PEACE PROCESS IN LIBERIA, SECRETARY-GENERAL TELLS MINISTERIAL MEETING
19970220 Following is the statement of Secretary-General Kofi Annan to the Second Ministerial Meeting of the Special Conference to Support the Peace Process in Liberia in New York on 20 February:I am pleased to welcome all of you to this Second Ministerial Meeting of the Special Conference to Support the Peace Process in Liberia. I commend the principal organizers of this forum for their efforts -- the United States on behalf of the International Contact Group, Nigeria on behalf of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the Netherlands. I wish to express my special appreciation to Minister Jan Pronk of the Netherlands for his initiative in developing this forum, which was intended to bring together donors with an interest in Liberia, the regional States, and the United Nations system.
Over the past three months the Liberian peace process has witnessed important positive developments. There have been significant achievements in the disarmament of fighters, there has been a revitalization of civil society, ECOMOG has continued to extend its authority, and a greater sense of security now prevails than at any time in the recent past. In Liberia today, there is genuine interest among all elements in the holding of early elections, and in recent days concrete steps have been taken towards the fulfillment of this objective.
These are positive and encouraging developments. They spring from the determination of the Liberian people to seize back control of their country, from the commitment and sacrifice of ECOWAS to the cause it has undertaken, and from the continuing interest shown in Liberia by the wider international community. They provide Liberia's best chance yet of establishing a durable and lasting peace.
But, despite these positive developments, there remains much to do. More than a dozen failed peace agreements in the past warn us that we cannot become complacent. While acknowledging the considerable progress that has been made, we must now intensify rather than relax our efforts.
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The pressure must be maintained - on the parties, and on ourselves. The momentum must be sustained. That is why this meeting is both timely, and necessary.
Eight critical items occupy the agenda of this meeting. Intense discussions will take place on each item. But as you approach the particular problems before you, and as you search for progress and solutions, three key challenges will recur. First, we must have the political will to do what needs to be done in Liberia. Second, we must have the courage to cooperate in order to get the job done in Liberia. Third, we must be willing to find and contribute the resources needed to finish the job successfully in Liberia. How all of us respond to these three challenges will determine the chances of success in Liberia.
It is no secret what needs to be done by the international community if the peace process in Liberia is to have the best chance of succeeding. Additional troops and resources must be provided to ECOMOG so that it can continue to assist in ensuring security, especially for the electoral process. Demobilized fighters must be encouraged to return to civil society and given the means of doing so. Reintegration programmes must be strengthened. Basic institutions of government and society must be reactivated. The conditions for free and fair elections must be created. And any effort to disrupt the peace process must be resisted by all of us, with all available means.
These are the tasks. They are tasks that can be completed, and they are problems that can be solved. We have the means. Let us now clearly demonstrate - both to the people of Liberia and to ourselves -- that we have the political will to do what needs to be done.
But unless we are united in our efforts -- and not just in our intent -- we will not succeed. In the past, the failure of the principal external actors to maintain a common political approach to the Liberian crisis undoubtedly impeded political progress towards a solution. Today, by contrast, the present positive trend in the peace process owes much to the success of efforts to bring greater political cohesion to the actions of the principal external actors involved in the peace process in Liberia.
This cooperation must now be intensified as we embark on a new and final phase of the peace process in Liberia. We must all be committed to a common approach, as well as to a common strategy for implementation. I am certain that the task will not always be easy, but I am determined to ensure the closest cooperation between the United Nations and its partners - and above all, with ECOWAS.
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This Ministerial Meeting is not a pledging conference. But if success is to be achieved, it is obvious that additional resources will be required - for ECOMOG, for the tasks assigned to the United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL), for humanitarian assistance, for the electoral process, as well as for reconstruction and rehabilitation efforts on the ground. It is important and necessary that the political decisions to support these efforts be taken now. Too often in the past we have embarked on critical and necessary tasks, only to have the financial rug pulled from underneath these efforts with devastating consequences. I appeal to you not to let this be the destiny of our common efforts in Liberia.
Peace will not be easy to achieve in Liberia, and much remains to be done. As the electoral phase begins in earnest, many tasks have yet to be completed, and key decisions have yet to be taken. The electoral framework must still be finalized by ECOWAS and the Liberian parties.
Decisions have yet to be taken on whether elections are to be conducted only in safe havens or country-wide, how "co-coordination" between the United Nations and ECOWAS will be implemented, the contributions to be made by the European Union and others, and the type and degree of assistance that will be needed by the Liberian electoral authorities.
I hope to be in a position to report to the Security Council shortly with recommendations on the role UNOMIL and the United Nations can play in assisting Liberia through this critical last phase. If we are to meet the 30 May deadline to which we are all committed, urgent action is required on all outstanding issues.
Never have our efforts been closer to success in Liberia. For the sake of those who continue to suffer from this brutal conflict, we must not allow this chance to slip through our grasp. Today, there are grounds for optimism. Let us hope that tomorrow there will be an even more solid basis for confidence.
Thank you for your presence here today. I wish you success.
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