{"id":76245,"date":"2025-06-05T07:16:30","date_gmt":"2025-06-05T07:16:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/boakai-snubs-weah-in-unsc-victory-speech"},"modified":"2025-06-05T07:28:39","modified_gmt":"2025-06-05T07:28:39","slug":"boakai-snubs-weah-in-unsc-victory-speech","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/boakai-snubs-weah-in-unsc-victory-speech","title":{"rendered":"Boakai Snubs Weah in UNSC Victory Speech"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #ff6600\"><strong>Africa-Press &#8211; Liberia. <\/strong><\/span>Liberia has secured an important victory by winning a seat as a Non-Permanent Member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the 2026\u20132027 term. But while President Joseph Nyuma Boakai celebrated the achievement and acknowledged past national leaders in his acceptance speech, his omission of immediate past President George Weah\u2014the man widely credited with initiating the UNSC bid\u2014has stirred political and public debate.<\/p>\n<p>During his speech, President Boakai praised Liberia\u2019s longstanding contributions to global diplomacy, citing the nation\u2019s membership in the League of Nations and its role as a founding member of the United Nations. He honored former Presidents Joseph Jenkins Roberts, Edwin Barclay, William V.S. Tubman, William R. Tolbert, and Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, but made no mention of former President George Weah.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe stand on the shoulders of giants&#8230; This moment is the fruit of their labor and prayers,\u201d President Boakai declared.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo all Liberians at home and abroad, this victory is yours. Let us rally together to make this tenure a success. When Liberia sits at the Council, it will be your hopes, resilience, and dreams that she will carry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>President Boakai also lauded the tireless work of Foreign Minister Sara Beysolow Nyanti and Liberia\u2019s Permanent Mission to the UN, as well as campaign teams in New York, Monrovia, and Addis Ababa, for securing the victory.<\/p>\n<p>A Vision That Started Under Weah<\/p>\n<p>Liberia\u2019s successful bid can be traced back to 2023 under the leadership of then-President George Weah. His administration formally secured the endorsement of the African Union during its 43rd Ordinary Session in Nairobi, Kenya, and later received support from ECOWAS following Weah\u2019s diplomatic visit to Bissau.<\/p>\n<p>However, Weah\u2019s re-election bid in October 2023 was unsuccessful, ending his presidency and leaving the UNSC campaign in the hands of the incoming Boakai administration.<\/p>\n<p>After taking office in January 2024, President Boakai continued the pursuit of the UNSC seat. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs intensified diplomatic efforts both locally and internationally to build support for Liberia\u2019s candidature.<\/p>\n<p><b>Tensions Behind the Scenes<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Despite the shared objective, tensions flared between the Boakai administration and former President Weah. In a bid to promote unity, Foreign Minister Nyanti wrote to Weah in September 2024, acknowledging his foundational role in the campaign and urging him to lend his support.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYour Excellency, it was under your esteemed leadership that the process for Liberia\u2019s bid for the non-permanent seat on the UNSC began&#8230; Your role in maintaining peace in Liberia during the recent elections has been widely recognized, cementing your status as a Global Peace Ambassador,\u201d the letter read.<\/p>\n<p>But shortly after, Deputy Minister of State for Presidential Affairs Daniel Sando publicly dismissed the need for Weah\u2019s involvement, stating the former president\u2019s international standing held little influence.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe government does not require former President Weah\u2019s support&#8230; The status of former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is far greater than that of former President Weah,\u201d Sando declared at a press briefing.<\/p>\n<p>The remarks drew swift criticism from Weah\u2019s office, which described Sando\u2019s comments as \u201cjuvenile and disingenuous,\u201d warning that such divisive rhetoric could undermine national unity and the country\u2019s international image.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSuch behavior points to an apparent schism in the government that poses a risk to the bid,\u201d Weah\u2019s office stated. Still, the former president reaffirmed his support for Liberia\u2019s campaign.<\/p>\n<p>Former Foreign Minister Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah also confirmed Weah\u2019s continued support despite the tensions.<\/p>\n<p><b>Nyanti Recognizes Weah\u2019s Role<\/b><\/p>\n<p>Though President Boakai did not mention Weah in his address, Foreign Minister Nyanti was more forthcoming in acknowledging the former leader\u2019s role.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe previous administration had this vision but didn\u2019t get the opportunity to implement it,\u201d she said. \u201cWe told them this vision would not die. We carried the torch forward. We exhausted every effort, and we said\u2014with or without anyone\u2019s approval\u2014we will go.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Nyanti recounted the difficulties faced during the campaign, including a brief challenge from Nigeria, which ultimately chose not to compete against Liberia.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis wasn\u2019t just about having a sponsor\u2014it was about building relationships with every country,\u201d she said. \u201cThey had to believe in us, trust us, and see us as capable of representing their voices on the Security Council.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><b>A Moment of Unity?<\/b><\/p>\n<p>While the omission of former President Weah from the President\u2019s speech has triggered discussion, Liberia\u2019s victory remains a shared national achievement. The diplomatic milestone stands as a testament to sustained bipartisan efforts and the nation\u2019s growing stature on the global stage.<\/p>\n<p>Whether the symbolic snub further deepens political divides\u2014or prompts reflection on national unity\u2014remains to be seen.<\/p>\n<p><strong>For More News And Analysis About <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Liberia<\/span> Follow <span style=\"color: #ff6600\">Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Africa-Press &#8211; Liberia. Liberia has secured an important victory by winning a seat as a Non-Permanent Member of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) for the 2026\u20132027 term. But while President Joseph Nyuma Boakai celebrated the achievement and acknowledged past national leaders in his acceptance speech, his omission of immediate past President George Weah\u2014the man [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":76244,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,7,12],"tags":[234],"class_list":["post-76245","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-head-lines","category-policy","tag-liberia"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v26.1 (Yoast SEO v27.0) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Boakai Snubs Weah in UNSC Victory Speech - Liberia<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Liberia has secured an important victory by winning a seat as a Non-Permanent Member of the United Nations Security Coun ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/boakai-snubs-weah-in-unsc-victory-speech\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Boakai Snubs Weah in UNSC Victory Speech\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Liberia has secured an important victory by winning a seat as a Non-Permanent Member of the United Nations Security Coun ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/boakai-snubs-weah-in-unsc-victory-speech\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Liberia\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-05T07:16:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-05T07:28:39+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2025\/06\/sm_1749095722.140679.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"720\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/boakai-snubs-weah-in-unsc-victory-speech#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/boakai-snubs-weah-in-unsc-victory-speech\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Boakai Snubs Weah in UNSC Victory Speech\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-05T07:16:30+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-05T07:28:39+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/boakai-snubs-weah-in-unsc-victory-speech\"},\"wordCount\":793,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/boakai-snubs-weah-in-unsc-victory-speech#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/liberia\/sites\/37\/2025\/06\/sm_1749095722.140679.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Liberia\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"head lines\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/boakai-snubs-weah-in-unsc-victory-speech#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/boakai-snubs-weah-in-unsc-victory-speech\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/liberia\/all-news\/boakai-snubs-weah-in-unsc-victory-speech\",\"name\":\"Boakai Snubs Weah in UNSC Victory Speech - 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