UN General Assembly
2007

support toward our national reconstruction programmes. My Government welcomes and highly appreciates the recent decision of the Security Council to lift the sanctions which it saw fit to impose on the timber and diamond sectors in Liberia. We pledge our fullest cooperation with the United Nations as it partners our country’s reform, which undoubtedly will strengthen the good governance procedures. Although the imposition of sanctions was considered by many as punitive, I am gratified to inform you that the Liberian people viewed the sanctions as prudent and corrective. The sanctions helped to accelerate the adoption of new laws and the institutionalization of appropriate mechanisms to ensure that we would never again allow conditions such as those that gave rise to their imposition. We also thank the international community for its continued support to peacebuilding and the strengthening of instruments of security and stability in Liberia. In spite of the gains of peace, Liberia remains fragile. The recent decision by the Security Council to extend the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) is timely and relevant. Liberia