Liberia Plans to Rejuvenate Open Government Partnership Initiative to aid its campaign for a non-permanent seat at the UNSC.
By: Kruah Thompson
Monrovia, October 18, 2024/ The head of the Liberian Secretariat of Open Government Partnership –(OGP), Deputy Information Minister for Administration, Mr. Johnny S. Tarkpah has announced plans to advance and rejuvenate the OGP initiative here.
Minister. Tarkpat believes the move will aid Liberia’s campaign for the UN Security Council non-permanent seat.
The OGP initiative is a commitment signed by governments to promote openness, enhance transparency, empower and encourage citizen participation, combat corruption, and utilize new technologies to improve governance.
Liberia joined the initiative in 2011, the same year it was established on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly by eight other countries, including the United States, United Kingdom, Mexico, Brazil, Philippines, Indonesia, and Norway.
In an exclusive interview, Mr. Tarkpah told our reporter that since Liberia joined the program, all the commitments summited to the OPG have never reached the desk of a sitting president.
He says his goal as the new head of the Secretariat is to bring new energy to the process and enable the country to fulfill its part of the commitment before December this year.
To achieve this feat, Mr. Tarkpah aims to gather input from civil society leaders and local communities to form part of a new national action plan that will be presented to President Joseph Boakai and his Cabinet.
He says this will give the plan more political weight. “We want the president to support this document to enhance its political weight fully,” he added.
Mr. Tarkpah believes that if Liberia lives up to its commitment to the OGP initiatives, it can convince international partners to support its bid for a non-permanent seat at the UN Security Council.
He explained that Liberia is ready to reoccupy the position it once served in 1961.
Under rule 83 of the rules of procedure, the non-permanent members of the Security Council are elected by a two-thirds majority.
The Security Council has five permanent members—China, France, Russia, the UK, and the US—and ten non-permanent members (Small powers) elected for two-year terms. Five of the non-permanent members are elected every year.
However, the country’s involvement in the OGP is crucial, especially after launching a recent campaign at the UNGA for a non-permanent seat on the UN Security Council.
Hence, Mr. Tarkpah believes that demonstrating progress in good governance can bolster Liberia’s standing in international circles.
“We want the president and civil society to recognize the importance of this instrument for creating a responsive governing system,” he concluded. -Edited by Othello B. Garblah.
