Bio Urges UN to Shift Global Priorities Beyond Military Spending

President Dr. Julius Maada Bio has called on world leaders to rebalance global priorities, arguing that military spending must be matched by stronger investment in peace, development and human security.

Bio made the appeal on 22 September in New York while addressing the General Debate of the 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

He said military action could help contain threats but could not secure lasting peace on its own. In his words, “Military action may contain a threat, but it cannot, by itself, build lasting peace.”

Budgets should reflect peace and development

Bio pointed to global military expenditure of almost US$2.9 trillion in 2025, describing it as the eleventh consecutive annual increase. He used the figure to press for a closer relationship between security spending and measures designed to prevent conflict and improve living conditions.

“The connection between peace and development must therefore move from our resolutions into our budgets,” he said.

The president argued that poverty, exclusion, unemployment and weak institutions can create conditions in which conflict takes root. He cited the continuing human cost of conflict in Sudan and eastern Democratic Republic of Congo, along with terrorism across West Africa and the Sahel, as examples of the consequences of delayed action.

Bio also linked peacebuilding to opportunities for young people. He said jobs, skills and dignity should be treated as central elements of development and peace policy, warning that young people without employment, skills or a stake in the future can become vulnerable to exploitation, smuggling and dangerous migration.

Call for fairer global economic arrangements

In his address, Bio called for stronger representation and fairer voting power for developing countries in international financial institutions. He also advocated affordable finance and improved debt treatment, saying changes were needed to make the global economic system fairer.

He further urged greater value creation from Africa’s critical minerals, which are important to the global energy transition. His proposals included processing minerals at source, establishing fair value chains, transferring technology and supporting local industry.

“The green transition must not reproduce the extractive terms of the past,” Bio said.

The call reflects his broader argument that African economies should gain more from the natural resources used in global production and energy systems, rather than primarily exporting raw materials.

Sierra Leone’s recovery as an example

Bio drew on Sierra Leone’s experience of conflict and recovery to illustrate his view that peace involves more than the formal end of war. He emphasized the rebuilding of communities, institutions and public confidence as essential to making peace meaningful.

He concluded by urging the international community to restore faith in multilateral cooperation and give practical meaning to the United Nations theme “For All”.

“Let this session give them that reason,” he said, adding that the words “FOR ALL” should become a measure of the international community’s work rather than remain only at the end of the year’s theme.