Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf had students out of their seats in applause several times last Tuesday in Gaston Hall.
The speech mainly consisted of an update on Liberian domestic affairs. Sirleaf also called for prompt international intervention in Darfur and the creation of a new United Nations body focused on gender equality.
photo by Alison Gillis
Sirleaf was sworn into office in the war-torn country in January after receiving 60 percent of the vote, making her the first woman ever elected as a head of state in Africa. She stopped at Georgetown as part of a week-long tour of the United States. Much of the speech focused on the need to make visible, substantial progress in her first year of office.
Sirleaf emphasized that Liberia had been devastated by decades of conflict between rival warlords and that the infrastructure of the state was virtually non-existent. She said that her administration had, “the chance to rebuild a nation on the ruins of war.”
Liberia is climbing out of more than 20 years of violent conflict between rival factions. Former president Charles Taylor, whom Sirleaf had extradited from his exile in Nigeria, is scheduled to be tried for war crimes in the Hauge next April.
Sirleaf emphasized that success hinges on her new government’s ability to establish its legitimacy early in order to avoid devolution back into the disarray that has plagued her country.
She said that tangible improvements in the daily lives of Liberians are critical to establishing legitimacy.
“We have to deliver fast,” she said. “The risk of descending back into chaos is very high.”
Sirleaf said that she was pleased with the progress so far. The government has successfully initiated distribution of mosquito nets and HIV treatment, but more is needed in a country where half of the population still lives on less than $.50 per day.
“Visible change has been too little and too slow,” she said.
She voiced particular concern about the challenges facing women and children, who face great inequality not only in Liberia, but throughout the world, she said.
“The poorest and least educated people everywhere are women and children,” she said.
Sirleaf proposed a new body within the U.N. to address global women’s issues and further include women in the decision-making processes.
Judging by the volume of applause, the highlight of the speech was a call for the UN to address the genocide in Darfur immediately.
Sirleaf said that the current debate over whether the intervention force should be composed of African or international soldiers is a waste of time and that the U.N. should take action under Chapter 7 of the Charter without delay.
“It is time to stop the killing in Darfur,” she said. “Civilized nations must not be indifferent to any conflict.”
