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Liberia: Officials Urged To Rise Above Politics

Liberia: UN Envoy Calls On Newly Elected Officials To Rise Above Partisan Politics

The top United Nations envoy in Liberia today called on the newly elected officials to fulfil their obligations to bring peace and democracy to the war-torn West African country, which the world body has been helping to nurse back to health since a 2003 ceasefire ended a decade and a half of strife.

“We ask you, the elected leaders and representatives of the people, to discharge that responsibility with wisdom, diligence and integrity,” Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s Special Representative Alan Doss told the certification ceremony for the officials elected last month, including President Elect Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.

“We ask you to rise above partisan politics and narrow interests, and put the welfare of this nation in first place.”

He told the participants, who included the new senators and representatives, that the recent elections clearly demonstrated Liberians’ desire for a vibrant and healthy democracy and for continued peace.

“In assuming office, you have assumed a sacred responsibility to protect and serve the people of Liberia. In this, you will have the full support of the United Nations and other international partners as you address the many difficult and complex tasks that lie ahead,” he declared.

“The international community stood by the people of Liberia in 2003, when together we started the process of bringing peace and stability to a nation torn by conflict; the United Nations will be at your side to consolidate the foundations of democratic governance that can ensure enduring peace and growing prosperity,” he concluded.

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