Remarks at 6th round of Negotiations on the Post-2015 Development Agenda 23 June 2015

Brief Remarks on behalf of the Liberian Delegation at the Sixth Round of

Intergovernmental Negotiations on the Post-2015 Development Agenda

United Nations Headquarters, New York
23 June 2015

Co-Facilitators:

The Liberian Delegation likes to thank you for the zero draft outcome document on the Post-2015 Global Development Agenda that was shared in a timely manner, and forms the basis of our deliberations here. We also like to thank you for the able manner in which you continue to conduct the affairs of these negotiations.

Our delegation aligns itself with the positions expressed by the African Group, the LDCs, and the Group of 77 plus China.  

Kindly permit us to make the following intervention in our national capacity.

First, the Republic of Liberia believes that peace and security, transparency and accountability, and strong, effective and efficient institutions are fundamental ingredients to growth and development anywhere in the world. We therefore request that these principles become the bedrock of the Sustainable Development Goals. Support to developing countries should therefore focus on strengthening peace and security, enhancing transparency and accountability, and building effective and efficient institutions to lead national development processes. These are strong principles in the Common African Position (CAP), and the Agenda for Transformation (AfT)-Liberia’s Vision 2030.

Second, our delegation is convinced that to achieve inclusive and pro-poor growth and development, the interest of children, youth and women must be strongly considered, and they must be allowed to play a fundamental role in the development process. We therefore suggest that the centrality of children, youth and women must be clearly enunciated in the final outcome document of the SDGs.

Third, national legislatures or parliaments are very much important in allocating national resources. The Liberian Delegation therefore likes to reinforce its previous call for the empowerment of legislators or parliamentarians so that they can play a robust leadership in the implementation of the SDGs.

Fourth, some African LDCs including Liberia, and developing countries in General, have bountiful natural resources that, when managed well, can spur growth and development. Developing countries therefore need to institute policies that will restrict exploitation and export of raw materials from developing states to developed countries. However, the most of the companies and investors that exploit these resources come from Developed countries. We therefore request that there should be a clear commitment on the part of developed countries to ensure fair, transparent and equitable trade and investment policies between developing countries and the powerful investors from developed countries. If this is done, developing countries would maximize benefits from their resources by adding value, boosting exports, creating jobs, accumulating wealth for their citizens, and ultimately alleviate poverty and hunger.

Fifth, our delegation holds the conviction that developing countries must take their own development seriously and invest in growth corridors such as education, infrastructure, agriculture, and health among others. However, we are fully aware that Official Development Assistance (ODA) remains a major source of development funding mainly for fragile and poor states. ODA must therefore be provided based on the need of developing countries, rather than the priorities of donor countries that more often than not set preconditions that undermine the national interest of poor countries. Up to date, some OECD member states have not met the commitment of 0.7% of their GNI as a voluntary contribution to ODA. Liberia encourages all donor countries that have not met this target to fulfill their commitment.

Sixth, there is a positive correlation between limited energy and poverty on the one hand, and poor infrastructure and poverty on the other; and that about ten percent of Africans have access to energy, while about five percent of the hydro power potential in Africa is being utilized. The Liberian Delegation therefore recommends that concrete commitments should be made to increase access to clean energy globally, fund infrastructural development and adequately invest in education and agriculture. Additionally, evidence shows that Least Developed Countries have 60 percent of the agricultural land globally. Hence investment in agriculture in LDCs would increase food security and nutrition. With these measures, we can substantively reduce poverty and hunger globally by 2030.

Seventh, the health of the people of any given country is important. Liberia has found out from the Ebola Virus Disease experience that a country cannot make substantive progress in attaining growth and development when its health sector is undermined by pestilence or disease. We are convinced that healthy families lead to healthy communities, and healthy communities lead to healthy states. We therefore request that the issue of resilient health systems for families, communities and states, and the significance of mental health should be clearly captured and stated in the SDGs.

Last, African states are more often than not compelled to provide tax breaks to investment companies from developed countries. However, to increase domestic revenue and adequately fund national development plans, developing countries need to maximize taxes from their resources. Liberia therefore recommends that the Addis Ababa conference on Financing for Development should commit to reduction of tax breaks to the multinational and transnational investment companies from developed countries. This would help increase developing countries’ domestic revenues to fund national development programmes.

Once again, Co-Facilitators, the Liberian Delegation would like to thank you for your leadership in these negotiations. We will continue to interject as a delegation where and when necessary as the negotiations continue.