Liberia is a charter member of the UN, having joined on 2 November 1945; it takes part in ECA and all the nonregional specialized agencies. It belongs to the African Development Bank, ECOWAS, G-77, and the AU, and is a signatory to the Law of the Sea.
Liberia has participated in various African conferences and has advocated a cooperative association of African states to further such matters of mutual concern as public health, education, and trade. A customs bloc, the Mano River Union, was established in 1973 with Sierra Leone and Guinea. Leaders of the three countries signed a nonaggression and antisubversion pact in 1986. Technical assistance activities of the UN in Liberia have emphasized agricultural development, teaching, vocational training, and control of yaws and malaria.
The war in neighboring Cote d'Ivoire is of concern to Liberians. Some 70,000 Ivorians are displaced in Liberia, and hundreds of Liberians are stranded in Cote d'Ivoire. Given that independent Liberian soldiers of fortune are involved in the conflict, there is a possibility that the war could spill over into Liberia.
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