JNB Has Made Liberia Proud at UNGA80 -My Take on President Boakai’s UNGA Address

By Deputy Minister Daniel Sando

MONROVIA – Last night I listened to President Boakai’s address delivered at the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly from my home in Barnesville, and I must admit it was a masterclass in clarity and conviction. When the President mentioned that “Liberia knows all too well the human cost of conflict,” his words landed not as a diplomatic phrase, but as a shared memory of Liberia’s tragic past. For those of us who lived through the prolonged period of our nation’s conflict, or who have grown up in its long shadow, the address by President Boakai to the world is a statement about who we are as Liberians, but more importantly, who we are determined to become.

In honesty, I felt a sense of deep pride in hearing the President of my country speak with a credibility that few world leaders can claim. Of course, his defense of multilateralism wasn’t abstract. As Liberians, we do remember the sight of United Nations white helmets on our streets. We know and will never forget the name ECOMOG. From a Liberian perspective, multilateralism or international cooperation is not a theory debated in New York; it is the reason many of us are alive today. So, when President Boakai declared that a “reversal of multilateralism is not an option,” I felt a swell of agreement. In my mind, he was speaking for Liberia, a country that is living proof that the world can, and must, work together.

We embrace the announcement that our nation will take a seat on the United Nations Security Council from 2026-2027 with a sense of historic vindication. But for many, the most important part was when the President said that while the nameplate will read “Liberia,” the seat belongs to Africa. This statement resonates deeply because President Boakai sees Liberia as part of a larger African story. He added, ‘For too long, decisions about peace and war have been made without permanent African input’. For me, it feels like a profound responsibility for the President of Liberia to have carried such a weighty message to the highest table. It proves that our journey from being a problem the world had to solve to becoming a partner in solving global problems is on an irreversible path.

But let’s be honest, I also listened for the things that touch the daily lives of Liberians. When the President spoke of the “ARREST Agenda,” I nodded in agreement. We know that our roads need to be fixed. We feel the struggle for food security. His words on corruption, “asset declarations” and “improved public service delivery”, were not just for an international audience. They were promises Liberians have heard at home and now expect the world to hold him accountable. The speech was a reminder that the dignity we seek on the global stage must be matched by justice and development right here in Liberia.

The most powerful moment that quieted my room was his call for global support for the War and Economic Crimes Court for Liberia.  By renewing this request on the world’s biggest stage, President Boakai did something brave. He acknowledged that our peace is still fragile, that our healing is not complete. For the victims of the civil war, this was a sign that they had not been forgotten. It showed that his government is willing to confront the ghosts of our past, not sweep them under the rug, in the belief that true peace is built on justice. It was a difficult thing to hear, but a necessary one.

Also, President Boakai spoke of climate change eroding our coasts. I have friends and loved ones in coastal counties who see this every day. He also mentioned how debt servicing to the international financial architecture cripples our schools and hospitals. His speech connected our local struggles to global failures, giving our daily hardships a name and a cause on an international platform.

In the end, the theme “Better Together” felt different coming from a Liberian. We have learned the hard way that we are better together as a nation and that our nation is better together with the world. The President’s speech was not just a list of requests; it was an offering. It was Liberia saying to a divided world: We have been to the brink. We have seen the worst of what happens when cooperation fails. And we are here to tell you that the path back is through dialogue, shared responsibility, and an unwavering belief in our common humanity. The world may need to hear that message, but for us, as Liberians, we paid the prize, it is the very lesson we bled to learn.