Thank you, Mr. President. Liberia thanks the briefers for their important updates. Mr. President, the risks before us are clear: Continued escalation, deepening humanitarian suffering, widespread destruction of infrastructure, and broader regional instability.
The war in Ukraine tests not only international peace and security, but the foundational principles of this Organization — the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity, and the peaceful settlement of disputes. These principles are not abstract ideals, nor were they intended to be. They are the rules that make peaceful coexistence among nations possible. Furthermore, they guarantee the Maintenance of International Peace and Security.
Whenever this Council has confronted such questions on these principles, it has acted to confirm one constant truth: Adherence to these principles is neither optional nor selective. Importantly also, they cannot be upheld in response to convenience.
Notably, the erosion of these principles — whether through disregard or selective application — has repeatedly made the world more dangerous and unsafe. This was true eighty years ago. It remains true today.
Mr. President, a world committed to multilateralism must reject the notion that force is an effective or legitimate language of individual and collective security.
The very basis of our membership in the United Nations is a commitment to resolve disputes through dialogue and peaceful means.
Therefore, Liberia calls on all parties to respect their obligations under the Charter -- obligations to protect civilians, to halt destruction, to take concrete steps toward ending this war and to prevent further escalation.
Our own lived experience reminds us that military solutions, even when deemed to be possible, do not deliver sustainable peace nor lasting security.
Mr. President, Liberia supports this Council’s continued engagement on the war in Ukraine. However, we must be clear: When the Council declares itself seized of a matter that gravely threatens international peace and security, it must do so with the collective resolve to move beyond a mere repetition of national positions, to a genuine search for resolution. Anything less, risks undermining the credibility of the Council, and of the United Nations itself.
After years of conflict and repeated warnings of worsening conditions, this Council cannot be content with restating positions that have neither advanced peace nor offered hope to those affected.
The people of Ukraine—and all those impacted by this war—deserve peace and security. That outcome is not impossible. It is achievable, but only if we act with seriousness, creativity, urgency and cooperation.
Liberia’s own journey from conflict to peace has taught us this hard truth: Peace becomes possible when cooperation replaces confrontation, when dialogue includes even adversaries, and when International Law and fidelity to the Charter bind all nations—both big and small.
Finally, Mr. President, ours is a simple message. The war must end. The killings must stop. The destruction must cease. The path to peace must begin.
Liberia stands ready to work constructively with all Council members to ensure that future generations inherit a world where peace remains possible.
I thank you.
