New York, United States, 22 September 2026 – His Excellency, President Dr. Julius Maada Bio has challenged world leaders to rethink global priorities, warning that the vast resources mobilised for military expenditure must be matched by greater investment in peace, development and human security.
Addressing the General Debate of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, President Bio said the persistence of conflict around the world demonstrates that military action alone cannot deliver lasting peace.
“Military action may contain a threat, but it cannot, by itself, build lasting peace,” President Bio told world leaders, stressing that insecurity takes root where hunger, exclusion and despair deepen.
The President pointed to the scale of global military spending, noting that expenditure reached almost US$2.9 trillion in 2025, marking the eleventh consecutive annual increase.
He acknowledged that nations have legitimate security needs but questioned the imbalance between the resources available for warfare and those committed to preventing conflict and advancing development.
“The connection between peace and development must therefore move from our resolutions into our budgets,” he said.
President Bio argued that lasting global stability requires addressing the conditions that fuel conflict, including poverty, exclusion, unemployment and weak institutions. He cited conflicts in Sudan and the eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, as well as terrorism across West Africa and the Sahel, as evidence of the human cost of delayed action.
He also called for greater fairness in the global economic system, arguing that developing countries require stronger representation, fairer voting power, affordable finance and better debt treatment in international financial institutions.
Turning to Africa’s natural resources, President Bio said the continent’s critical minerals, essential to the global energy transition, must generate greater value for African economies.
He called for processing at source, fair value chains, technology transfer and local industry, arguing that these measures could transform natural wealth into skilled employment, stronger economies and greater opportunities for young people.
“The green transition must not reproduce the extractive terms of the past,” he warned.
President Bio connected economic opportunity directly to peace and security, particularly for Africa’s youth, warning that young people without jobs, skills or a stake in the future become vulnerable to exploitation, smuggling and dangerous migration.
He said jobs, skills and dignity must therefore be treated as essential components of serious peacebuilding and development policy.
The President further used Sierra Leone’s own experience of conflict and recovery to reinforce his argument, recalling that the country’s peace became meaningful not simply through the formal end of the civil war, but through the rebuilding of communities, institutions and public confidence.
He concluded by urging the international community to restore faith in multilateral cooperation and ensure that the promise of the United Nations theme “For All” is reflected in decisions that improve people’s lives.
“Let this session give them that reason,” President Bio said. “The words ‘FOR ALL’ should not remain at the end of this year’s theme. They must become the measure of our work.” He concluded.
By State House Media and Communications Unit
