In Summary:
- Former lawmaker Acarous Gray claims that President George Weah, in his final State of the Nation Address in 2023, declared that Liberia would contest unopposed for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
- We have verified this claim by reviewing the video and full text of former President Weah’s final State of the Nation Address, delivered on January 30, 2023.
- We found that although the former president did mention that Liberia’s bid for the UNSC seat was heavily supported by the African Union and others, he did not say Liberia was going to contest unopposed.
On June 3, former District 8 Representative Acarous Gray, claimed on Spoon Talk that former President George Weah, during his final State of the Nation Address (SONA) in January 2023, declared that Liberia would by June 2025, contest unopposed for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
Gray made the claim at (1:56:28) of the show while criticizing President Boakai for not acknowledging the role of former President Weah who initiated Liberia’s bid for a UNSC seat.
The Claim
Said Gray: “So I’ll salute a hero, a patriot, a nationalist, who the last State of the Nation Address in January of 2023, almost 2 minutes, few seconds, catalogued and elaborated in the presence of local and international partners through the legislature, providing that by this time, in June, Liberia would have gone to election unopposed and Liberia is about to set History.”
Rating Justification
To verify this claim, we reviewed the video and full text of former President George Weah’s final State of the Nation Address delivered on January 30, 2023.
The SONA is in fulfillment of Article 58 of the Liberian Constitution which calls for the president report to the legislature on the fourth working Monday of January each.
We found the live recorded video on the Executive Mansion Facebook page dated January 30, 2023. The video shows the former President delivering his 6th State of the Nation address.
At (2:16:19) of the over three-hour speech, President Weah announced that Liberia’s candidature for a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council for the 2026-2027 term was endorsed during the 40th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union, held from February 3-7, 2022 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
He also stated that Liberia’s bid had received unanimous support from the African Group of Ambassadors at the United Nations in New York. He added that the election for the seat will take place in New York in 2025.
He stated: “During the period under review, Liberia’s Candidature for a Seat on the United Nations Security Council as a Non-Permanent Member for the 2026 – 2027 period; was endorsed during the 40th Ordinary Session of the Executive Council of the African Union, held from February 3 -7, 2022 in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. This Candidature of Liberia for a seat on the UN Security Council was also unanimously endorsed by the African Group of Ambassadors at the United Nations in New York. I am now pleased to announce that the election for Liberia to sit on the Security Council as a Non-Permanent Member for the 2226 – 2027 period will be held in New York in 2025.”
Other online platforms such as KMTV-Liberia, the Ministry of Information Cultural Affairs and Tourism (MICAT), and various local media institutions, including FrontPage Africa and Smart News Liberia live live-streamed the event and published the full text.
At no point in the over three-hour address did President Weah say that Liberia would contest unopposed for the seat. Rather, he emphasized regional and diplomatic endorsements of Liberia’s candidacy, not the absence of competitors.
Conclusion
Based on a review of former President George Weah’s speech, we conclude that while it is correct that the former President spoke about Liberia’s bid for a UNSC seat, Gray’s claim that the former president said Liberia will contest unopposed for the United Nations Security Council non-permanent seat is misleading.
The former President highlighted regional support for Liberia’s bid but did not state that there would be no other candidates in the election.
