{"id":25864,"date":"2026-05-14T07:47:04","date_gmt":"2026-05-14T07:47:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ul.edu.lr\/new\/?p=25864"},"modified":"2026-05-14T07:47:09","modified_gmt":"2026-05-14T07:47:09","slug":"ul-hosts-62nd-national-unification-day-dialogue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ul.edu.lr\/new\/ul-hosts-62nd-national-unification-day-dialogue\/","title":{"rendered":"UL Hosts 62nd National Unification Day Dialogue"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Capitol Hill campus, May 14, 2026 \u2013<\/strong> The University of Liberia hosted a National Unification Day Dialogue on Tuesday in commemoration of Liberia\u2019s 62nd National Unification Day celebration. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The event, held under the theme: \u201cAssessing the Impact of Presidential and Legislative Elections on Peace, National Unification, Reconciliation, and Good Governance in Liberia,\u201d was organized by Better Future Foundation in collaboration with the Coalition for the Establishment of War and Economic Crimes Court in Liberia.

The dialogue on May 12 drew government and diplomatic representatives, university officials, faculty, staff, and students to the Tubman Hall Auditorium on the university\u2019s Capitol Hill campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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President urges election-based unity<\/strong>

Welcoming the guests, University of Liberia President Dr. Layli Maparyan said National Unification Day is a reminder that Liberia’s progress depends not only on political victories, but also on the country\u2019s ability to nurture peace, mutual respect, reconciliation, and inclusive governance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\u201cElections are essential pillars of democracy, yet their true value is measured by the extent to which they promote national cohesion, public trust, justice, and sustainable development. All of these are what we as a nation should stand for and live for,\u201d she said.

President Maparyan also said it is fitting for the university to host the dialogue, noting UL\u2019s commitment to providing a platform for meaningful dialogue as Liberia strengthens its democratic processes. War crimes court office highlights accountability. Meanwhile, Prof. Jallah A. Barbu, executive director of the Office of War and Economic Crimes Court, said Liberia\u2019s civil conflict left behind painful scars that continue to affect families, communities, and institutions across the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Barbu cautioned that the lingering effects of impunity, corruption, inequality, and institutional weakness continue to hinder Liberia\u2019s aspirations for genuine unity and development. \u201cIt is against this backdrop that conversations surrounding national unification and accountability become critically important,\u201d said Cllr. Barbu.

He described national unification as a conscious and sustained effort to build a society in which every citizen \u2013 regardless of ethnicity, region, religion, gender, political affiliation, or social status \u2013 feels included, protected, respected, and represented.

UN rights envoy: reconciliation is daily life<\/strong>
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In a goodwill message, UN diplomat Mr. Christian Mukosa said respect for human rights \u2013 including freedom of speech and expression \u2013 remains a key foundation for reconciliation. \u201cSo reconciliation should not be seen as a mere word, as a slogan, but it is something we live on a daily basis, every day,\u201d said Mukosa, the country representative and chief of the Office for the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Liberia.

Defense minister stresses professional, non-political military<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n


Defense Minister Geraldine Janet George noted that a united people builds stronger institutions, resilient communities, and strengthens national confidence.
She assured that the Armed Forces of Liberia remains committed to its constitutional mandate as a professional, disciplined, and non-political institution serving all Liberians equally. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Giving an overview of the dialogue, Rev. Augustine S. Arkoi said the National Unification Day 2026 isn’t just a commemoration, but also a review conference to advance reconciliation. Arkoi, chief executive officer of the Better Future Foundation, said the foundation is highlighting resilience to support reconciliation, including an ongoing survey to collect responses from 15,000 people across Liberia\u2019s 15 counties. He disclosed that the survey will inform researchers on conflict-sensitive issues, including land disputes and transitional justice issues.

\u201cThese are things that we need to deal with to ensure that this country is fully reconciled. We are happy to partner with the Office of the War and Economic Crimes Court to support the Government of Liberia to reconcile our people,\u201d said Rev. Arkoi.

Launch of unification hero award<\/strong>

In his remarks, Mr. J. Alphanso D. Perkins, assistant minister for decentralization at the Ministry of Local Government, praised the organizers and officially launched the Mary Nema Brownell National Unification Hero\/Heroine Award. Perkins said that despite differences in ethnicity, region, or background, Liberians share one national identity and must work together toward peaceful co-existence, tolerance, and national healing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Elections need stronger institutions <\/strong>

Concluding the discussions, Sinoe County District Number One Representative Thomas Romeo Quiah emphasized that national unity and sustainable peace cannot be achieved through periodic elections alone. He argued that the process must be strengthened by credible institutions, inclusive governance, equitable representation, and public confidence in the electoral process.
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Capitol Hill campus, May 14, 2026 \u2013 The University of Liberia hosted a National Unification Day Dialogue on Tuesday in commemoration of Liberia\u2019s 62nd National Unification Day celebration. The event, held under the theme: \u201cAssessing the Impact of Presidential and Legislative Elections on Peace, National […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":142,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_editorskit_title_hidden":false,"_editorskit_reading_time":0,"_editorskit_is_block_options_detached":false,"_editorskit_block_options_position":"{}","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"iawp_total_views":8,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-25864","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"featured_image_src":null,"author_info":{"display_name":"parleyww","author_link":"https:\/\/ul.edu.lr\/new\/author\/4ad98a01a3a2fd36\/"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ul.edu.lr\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25864","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ul.edu.lr\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ul.edu.lr\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ul.edu.lr\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ul.edu.lr\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=25864"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/ul.edu.lr\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25864\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":25895,"href":"https:\/\/ul.edu.lr\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/25864\/revisions\/25895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ul.edu.lr\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=25864"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ul.edu.lr\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=25864"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ul.edu.lr\/new\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=25864"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}