Liberia, Sept. 25 -- PRESIDENT JOSEPH NYUMA BOAKAI went to the United Nations on Thursday night and spoke powerfully about dignity. He demanded that Africa, a continent of 1.5 billion people, stop being discussed without a permanent voice on the Security Council. He said a global system "governed by so few" cannot keep deciding the fate of billions. He pledged that Liberia stands ready to "guarantee human dignity, and leave no one behind."

FINE WORDS. BUT Liberians are entitled to ask how they square with what happened at Roberts International Airport just five weeks ago.

THE DEAL THE SPEECH LEFT OUT

IN AUGUST, LIBERIA agreed to accept up to 1,200 third-country deportees from the United States over the coming year, one of the largest s...