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STORY: UN / SIERRA LEONE PRESIDENT BIO
TRT: 6:23
SOURCE: UN NEWS
RESTRCTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 13 AUGUST 2024, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior, United Nations Headquarters
13 AUGUST 2024, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, President of Sierra Leone at the interview
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Julius Maada Bio, President of Sierra Leone:
“I am optimistic and that is why I want to call on Africa to fully support this and the rest of the world too because we are talking about democracy, fairness, representation, and the fact that we are not there in the Security Council in the permanent category, and even in the non-permanent category, it means we are underrepresented, it means that this is not a legitimate, organ of the UN security, of the UN. Its mandate cannot be easily executed in Africa because there is, it is not fair, it does not represent our views. So that is why I strongly believe that with the necessary push and with the commitments made by all the P5, representatives there yesterday, there is light at the end of the tunnel.”
4. Wide shot, President of Sierra Leone at the interview
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Julius Maada Bio, President of Sierra Leone:
“We have to bring it to the consciousness of the world that we have also come of age. Africa represents 54 of the 193 States that make up the United Nations. We are 1.3 billion people; we cannot just be a territory for proxy wars and be used by others. We have a voice. We know what our problems are, and we should have a say. Besides, more than 60 percent of the issues that are discussed in the Security Council and most of the activities are in Africa. How would you want them to be owned? If we are not part of it. So, the African leadership needs to wake up again and realize that we cannot be a member of the world organization and not be part of its prime organ, the Security Council.”
6. Wide shot, President of Sierra Leone at the interview
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Julius Maada Bio, President of Sierra Leone:
“We are talking about enhanced representation. At the moment, we are only present in the non-permanent category. In the permanent category, there is no African representation. What we are saying is that we want to increase our number in the non-permanent category - by two. And also, we are asking for two members in the permanent category with veto power if it is retained.”
8. Wide shot, President of Sierra Leone at the interview
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Julius Maada Bio, President of Sierra Leone:
“We need more voices. We need to make our voices louder, and, be a voice, let them be voices of reasoning. We want to contribute to what is happening around the world. We think we have perspectives that are pertinent. We think we have what it takes to be part of the world today and not just be a recipient of the largesse of others.”
10. Wide shot, President of Sierra Leone at the interview
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Julius Maada Bio, President of Sierra Leone:
“In all of this, we have learned quite a lot. Partnership, multilateralism, dialogue; and the need to build consensus. So, what we are bringing to the table within the UN Security Council is how we can be a bridge, how we can support multilateralism as a way for peace and security around the world.”
12. Wide shot, President of Sierra Leone at the interview
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Julius Maada Bio, President of Sierra Leone:
“It is for that reason that I have said that women should be empowered through education, everything that we do as men, they should have, they should be empowered to do it and we have started with the law, which we have passed to make sure that at least to start with, nothing less than 30 percent of our cabinet, of our parliament and all institutions in the country should be women, in corporate governance, in the public sector, that is. We have started that and as I speak to you, more than 30 percent of people, of those serving as cabinet members are women. More than 30 percent of those in parliament are women.”
14. Wide shot, President of Sierra Leone at the interview
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Julius Maada Bio, President of Sierra Leone:
“Every individual should be involved in this. We should be educated about the fact that the impact of climate change is here. And the little actions we take, making sure that there's forest covered, making sure that we clean our drainage so that the water can flow easily, making sure that we don't just fell the trees. These are the things that we are doing.”
16. Wide shot, President of Sierra Leone at the interview
17. SOUNDBITE (English) Julius Maada Bio, President of Sierra Leone:
“It is high time we started bringing them in to see what is happening, to be part of the governance system. And for those that are responsible, those that are educated, I think it is but fair that we bring them in. So, I have brought them in and I must say the reviews are quite beautiful. The reviews are good.”
18. Wide shot, President of Sierra Leone at the interview
12 AUGUST 2024, NEW YORK CITY
19. Various shots, President of Sierra Leone at a Security Council meeting on Addressing the Historical Injustice and Enhancing Africa’s Effective Representation in the Security Council
President of Sierra Leone Julius Maada Bio said that he is “optimistic” and called on African leaders and the rest of the world to support enhancing Africa’s effective representation in the Security Council.
In an interview on Tuesday (13 Aug) with UN News supported by UN Africa Renewal, President Bio said, “we are talking about democracy, fairness, representation, and the fact that we are not there in the Security Council in the permanent category, and even in the non-permanent category, it means we are underrepresented, it means that this is not a legitimate organ of the UN Security, of the UN. Its mandate cannot be easily executed in Africa because there is, it is not fair, it does not represent our views. So that is why I strongly believe that with the necessary push and with the commitments made by all the P5, representatives there yesterday, there is light at the end of the tunnel.”
President Bio reiterated, “We have to bring it to the consciousness of the world that we have also come of age,” adding that “Africa represents 54 of the 193 States that make up the United Nations. We are 1.3 billion people; we cannot just be a territory for proxy wars and be used by others.”
He continued, “We have a voice. We know what our problems are, and we should have a say. Besides, more than 60 percent of the issues that are discussed in the Security Council and most of the activities are in Africa. How would you want them to be owned? If we are not part of it.”
The President of Sierra Leone added, “the African leadership needs to wake up again and realize that we cannot be a member of the world organization and not be part of its prime organ, the Security Council.”
“We are talking about enhanced representation. At the moment, we are only present in the non-permanent category. In the permanent category, there is no African representation. What we are saying is that we want to increase our number in the non-permanent category - by two. And also, we are asking for two members in the permanent category with veto power if it is retained,” he further explained.
President Bio highlighted, “We need more voices. We need to make our voices louder, and be a voice, let them be voices of reasoning. We want to contribute to what is happening around the world. We think we have perspectives that are pertinent. We think we have what it takes to be part of the world today and not just be a recipient of the largesse of others.”
Speaking about the lessons learns from Sierra Leone’s history, the President said, “In all of this, we have learned quite a lot. Partnership, multilateralism, dialogue; and the need to build consensus.”
He continued, “what we are bringing to the table within the UN Security Council is how we can be a bridge, how we can support multilateralism as a way for peace and security around the world.”
On gender equality, President Bio said, “women should be empowered through education, everything that we do as men, they should have, they should be empowered to do it and we have started with the law, which we have passed to make sure that at least to start with, nothing less than 30 percent of our cabinet, of our parliament and all institutions in the country should be women, in corporate governance, in the public sector, that is, we have started that and as I speak to you, more than 30 percent of people, of those serving as cabinet members are women. More than 30 percent of those in parliament are women.”
On combating climate change, the head of State said, “Every individual should be involved in this. We should be educated about the fact that the impact of climate change is here. And the little actions we take, making sure that there's forest covered, making sure that we clean our drainage so that the water can flow easily, making sure that we don’t just fell the trees. These are the things that we are doing.”
On youth empowerment, President Bio said, “It is high time we started bringing them in to see what is happening, to be part of the governance system. And for those that are responsible, those that are educated, I think it is but fair that we bring them in. So, I have brought them in and I must say the reviews are quite beautiful. The reviews are good.”
President Bio, under his country’s presidency of the Council this month, convened a meeting on Addressing the Historical Injustice and Enhancing Africa’s Effective Representation in the Security Council on Monday (12 Aug).
