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New York – President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr. has issued a fiery call for structural reform of the United Nations Security Council, declaring that Africa’s exclusion is a historic injustice.
Addressing the 81st UNGA in New York Thursday,
President Boakai said Africa, home to 1.5 billion people and one-third of UN membership, has 80% of Security Council mandates focused on its peace and security yet remains without a single permanent seat.
He reaffirmed Liberia’s support for the Common African Position demanding no fewer than two permanent seats with all rights including the veto, plus additional non-permanent seats.
“Correcting this imbalance is not a favor to Africa; it is necessary to restore the United Nations’ trust, credibility, and legitimacy,” Boakai declared.
Meanwhile, President Boakai has further called for urgent structural reform of the international financial architecture, saying it was designed for 1945 not 2026.
Speaking at UNGA81 under the theme “Restoring Trust,” Boakai said developing nations are being squeezed by unsustainable debt, shrinking fiscal space and escalating interest rates that threaten survival.
He demanded fairer voice and vote for developing countries in the World Bank and IMF, and called for concessional financing, debt sustainability and predictable development capital.
“Reform of the international financial system is not a technical exercise; it is a precondition for delivering the SDGs and restoring trust,” he said.
He highlighted Liberia’s ARREST Agenda – Agriculture, Roads, Rule of Law, Education, Sanitation and Tourism.
He also disclosed that Liberia, as a current member of the UN Security Council, is confronting evolving threats including transnational organized crime, cyber warfare and illicit narcotics trafficking along maritime corridors in the Gulf of Guinea.
Boakai said through Joint Security forces, Liberia is tightening the vise on transnational drug cartels but needs international support.
“No nation can police global criminal networks alone, so we call on international partners for targeted support in coast guard surveillance, intelligence sharing, and port security technologies,” he told world leaders.
He also renewed calls for immediate end to all hostilities globally, unhindered humanitarian access and investment in preventive diplomacy.
In a powerful climate and technology message, President Boakai reminded industrial nations that Liberia contributes virtually nothing to global emissions yet faces coastal erosion, flooding and disrupted agriculture.
He revealed Liberia harbors 42% of the remaining Upper Guinean Rainforest – a vital global carbon sink maintained on behalf of humanity – and demanded industrial nations honor financing pledges and operationalize loss-and-damage mechanisms.
On Artificial Intelligence, Boakai warned that developing nations must not be left as mere consumers of algorithms and joined calls for binding ethical norms and greater regulation of AI, particularly in warfare.
“Innovation must protect human development, not automate human destruction,” Boakai stressed. He also called for STEM education for Africa’s youth and full equality for women and girls.