Last Updated on June 11, 2025 by The Liberian Investigator
CAPITOL HILL – President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has formally submitted two landmark international health treaties to the House of Representatives for ratification, signaling a renewed push to combat illicit trade in tobacco products and the misuse of psychotropic substances in Liberia.
The treaties — the Protocol to Eliminate Illicit Trade in Tobacco Products and the 1971 Convention on Psychotropic Substances — aim to strengthen Liberia’s alignment with global health and security standards. Both agreements, long signed but not ratified by the Liberian government, are considered crucial tools in the global fight against drug abuse and tobacco smuggling.
Boakai, in his communication to the Legislature, underscored the urgency of ratifying the protocols, noting their potential to clamp down on transnational smuggling operations, protect public health, and bolster legal enforcement systems.
“I urge the Legislature to ratify these international instruments, which, among other things, are germane to curb smuggling of tobacco and tobacco products, and prevent the diversion of controlled substances from legal sources while ensuring their availability for scientific and medical use,” Boakai stated.
The tobacco protocol, which supplements the World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), addresses loopholes in international tobacco trade that criminal networks exploit to move illegal products across borders. Liberia signed the FCTC in 2004 and ratified it in 2009, but has yet to finalize this critical follow-up measure.
The 1971 psychotropic convention, meanwhile, is one of three major United Nations drug control treaties. Although Liberia signed the convention over five decades ago, it has remained pending in the Legislature. The country has already ratified the other two treaties — the 1961 Single Convention on Narcotic Drugs and the 1988 UN Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances.
Boakai’s request comes at a time when Liberia faces growing pressure to modernize its regulatory systems and strengthen its border controls amid increasing cross-border trafficking.
In response to the president’s submission, the House of Representatives has instructed its Committees on Health and Commerce to scrutinize the treaties and report back within two weeks.
Public health experts and security analysts are welcoming the move as a step toward plugging enforcement gaps that have long hampered Liberia’s ability to regulate dangerous substances and illegal tobacco flows.
If ratified, the treaties would commit Liberia to tighter international standards and reporting mechanisms, giving the country access to global technical assistance and legal cooperation frameworks. Advocates say such moves are key to improving enforcement capacity, especially in an era of rising addiction, counterfeit drugs, and health system vulnerabilities.
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