Sub-Regional Youth Leadership and Non-Violence Forum

October 5, 2011 | Remarks by Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield

Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield joins the West African youth delegation following her remarks.

The Ambassador delivers the keynote address at the forum, which included representatives from all the Mano River Union countries.

Good morning. It is great to see all of you here today. My thanks to the West African Youth Network for bringing all of us together at this important time. I would like to welcome the delegations from Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea and Sierra Leone. Thanks for coming to share your experiences and insights, and for supporting your neighbor. To our Liberian representatives, especially those involved in youth wings, thank you for taking the time away from campaigning to be a part of this bigger discussion. As I said to you last week – you are the future leaders of Liberia!

We are here today to talk about peace – why it matters and why it can be so hard to maintain. Over the past few decades, this region has had more than its fair share of conflict. We’ve seen a domino effect in West Africa – Liberia fell first into violence and civil conflict, Sierra Leone followed shortly thereafter, then Cote d’Ivoire and Guinea, and before long the region had developed a reputation for instability. More recently, each of the Mano River Union countries have made the transition from military dictatorships and civil wars to multi-party democracies, but lasting peace and prosperity often seem to be just out of reach.  

As we’ve seen recently in Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire, elections can be a trigger for violence. And as Liberians prepare to go the polls next week, the world is watching to see if its people will choose violence or peace. 

In the past few weeks leading up to Liberia’s elections, we’ve seen a big increase in the rhetoric and innuendo. People are increasingly fearful of what’s to come. For many of us, it is shocking and incomprehensible that a candidate or party would even speak of violence in a country that has already suffered so much. Despite the gains Liberia has made over the past eight years, so many of its people continue to struggle just to get by. It is that struggle and suffering that makes peace so precarious and so precious. In the words of the American diplomat and Nobel Peace Prize recipient Ralph Bunche, “Peace, to have meaning for many who have only known suffering in both peace and war, must be translated into bread or rice, shelter, health and education, as well as freedom and human dignity.”

In this context, one can almost fathom how another would be willing take to the streets in exchange for a little cash, a t-shirt or a bag of rice. I keep hearing this phrase: “Red light is pregnant.” What does it mean?  People with so little – being encouraged to steal from each other! The problem, of course, is that it is easy to get people to take to the streets, but not so easy to get them to go home. And when that moment inevitably comes – someone makes a misstep or over-reacts, the ensuing violence hurts those who stand to benefit the most from peace.

I firmly believe it is you – our youth – who have the most riding on peace. For our visitors, I should clarify that when we say “youth” in Liberia, we’re referring to those under the age of 35. In most of the world, the cut-off age for youth is 29, and in the U.S., it’s 21! But here, the government has said that the age must be extended to include those impacted by the war. By this definition, a huge majority – some three-quarters – of the nation’s population are youth.

This generation has been heavily burdened with the consequences of violence and war.  It is hard to get a good education when your schools have been destroyed – and they were destroyed. It’s hard to get a good job when you never had a chance to study reading, writing or mathematics. It’s hard to stay hopeful when so many people are struggling just to get by. And it’s hard to know how to deal with these challenges when so many of you have lost family and friends.

Despite all these hardships, your generation has not given up. We’re seeing the benefits of your perseverance – illiterate women have gone back to school, ex-combatants have sought constructive roles in rebuilding the country, and formal sector employment is expanding.

Liberia has worked hard for these gains. And I know we’d all like to speed up the pace, but the hard truth remains – it is much easier to destroy a community, economy and infrastructure than it is to rebuild.  We all have to be realistic about our expectations – fourteen years of disastrous conflict will not be undone overnight. On October 11^th and in the days that follow, Liberians will make a choice – they can continue on the long and difficult path of peace and prosperity or they can turn back to the easy route of violence and devastation.

I challenge you – our youth leaders – to reach out to your peers, families, and communities to remind them what is at stake. Help folks understand that it doesn’t matter whether you are hungry and tired of promises or hopeful and optimistic about your future, you still need to vote. Whether you are the richest woman or poorest man, your vote carries equal weight.  When you use the ballot box to express your will, your voice will be heard.

To those who question the readiness of the National Elections Commission (NEC) to handle these elections, let me assure you of my confidence in the NEC’s ability to administer free, fair and transparent elections. The international community has worked closely with the NEC to ensure they are up to the task. USAID, UNDP and UNMIL have all provided significant financial and logistical assistance to support credible and transparent elections.

The International Foundation for Elections Systems (IFES) in the midst of a five-year, $18.5 million USAID funded initiative to support technical training and capacity building at the NEC. IFES is an international, nonpartisan and nonprofit organization; its staff has been working side by side with the NEC in the lead up to the elections and will be there as the results come in. Through IFES, we’ve helped the NEC establish a modern data center with over $1 million worth of computer and IT equipment for use in voter registration, ballot design, election counting and tabulation. IFES supported the NEC throughout the voter registration process, which resulted in nearly 1.8 million Liberians registering to vote, representing over 80-percent of eligible voters.  During the referendum, the counting of referendum results was timely, accurate and transparent.

As we approach the elections, USAID and IFES are continuing to work directly with the NEC to provide technical and logistical support, train thousands of poll workers, provide grants for civic and voter education, and to ensure new technology and equipment is used correctly nation-wide. The goal is an accurate, transparent and fraud-resistant submission, tallying and reporting of results.

We want to be confident in the transparency and credibility of the elections process and results. As such, the U.S. government provided an $800,000 grant to the Carter Center to sponsor an international delegation of short and long-term elections observers. Through a grant to the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs, we are supporting a nation-wide coalition of Liberian NGOs who will observe the campaign process and election polls at every polling station in the country. Beyond this, Embassy staff and officials will be observing polling sites in all 15 Liberian counties and we are coordinating with the Carter Center, ECOWAS, UNMIL, Sierra Leonean, and Liberian election observers, among others, to ensure coverage on Election Day.

It is not only international observers who will be monitoring the process.  Every party has the right to watch every moment of voting and every moment of counting at every single polling station. Concerned voters need to demand their parties have observers at each polling station – it is their right and responsibility. The more eyes we have on the process, the less risk there is for problems. It is absolutely in everyone’s interest to make sure the elections process goes smoothly.

I know you all will be out observing the elections as well – if you see a problem, the first step is to report it to the presiding NEC official. If you are not satisfied with their response, take it to the NEC magistrate. But let me also remind you that at no time should anyone, be it a candidate, party representative or observer, interfere with the voting process. I’ll be honest, I do not expect many problems – the process has been designed to minimize any potential for error. That said, we and other international partners will be watching, and we are all counting on all of you to do the same.

I’d like to use this opportunity to remind our political parties of the importance of adhering to the procedures for registering any concerns with the elections process.  If there are problems, they need to be reported to the NEC; sending people to the streets is not a solution. Liberia’s laws will be upheld throughout this process. Any party that disregards the laws of the land will be held accountable.

I’ll note there are still a few prominent parties who have not signed the elections Code of Conduct. I encourage their supporters to join me in asking ‘why not.’ To those parties that have refused to sign, we expect to hear from you. We expect to hear that you advocate peace.  That you condemn criminal acts. That you will uphold Liberian laws. That anyone breaking the law in your name is not a loyal supporter.  And that you seek to come to power only through peaceful, democratic means. 

We want to see elections that are free, fair, and transparent. As I’ve said before, the only candidate the U.S. government has in this election is democracy. We want the Liberian people to be free to vote, to feel safe participating and to have confidence in the process. The U.S. government stands ready work with the leaders you select. We stand with the people of Liberia today and we will stand with you tomorrow.

As we have seen across the region, elections are the foundation of democracy.  And as we know, democracy is not a single event – it is more than the elections – it is a process. I would argue it is high time that this region’s youth have more of a stake in that process. Historically, young people in West Africa have not played a major role in promoting democracy and participating in policy formation or decision-making. Youth have been relegated to the sidelines, kept on reserve in youth wings and often exploited when politicians stood to benefit from violence.

I encourage you all to make good use of this forum – as you come together, you can define a new role for youth in the democratic process. When youth from across parties and countries come together, putting aside any political differences to focus on common goals – the sky will be the limit. As I said before, in Liberia and across the region, youth are in the majority. Political leaders may not want you to realize it, but you have tremendous power. When you tell your leaders ‘enough is enough – you had your chance and pursued violence, it’s our turn now and we want peace,’ they will hear your message. When you declare youth will no longer be used or sacrificed in support of individual ambitions and holdfast in your commitment to non-violence, politicians will begin to change their ways. And when you ask politicians what their plan is for your future – how they will address unemployment, what they will do to develop infrastructure – you should demand an honest answer. If they don’t have a platform and they don’t care about issues, don’t support them politically. There is too much at stake in the region. You are our future leaders, don’t sit still and let West Africa fall behind. This is your time to stand tall and demand responsible leadership. You are our agents for peace and progress.

It was Martin Luther King, Jr., who said, “Peace is not merely a distant goal that we seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal.”

I commend all of you for the work you have done so far – at home and across the region – to encourage non-violent elections and advocate for increased youth representation. Next week’s elections are the most immediate test of your efforts, but with Guineans and Ivorians voting in legislative elections this December and Sierra Leoneans voting in 2012, your work has just begun. I am eager to celebrate your success as you lead this region in saying no to violence and yes to a better future.

Thank you.