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Liberia Mission Review Peacekeeping_3.final.qxd 1/28/08 10:04 AM Page 57 3.13.4 Liberia Liberia has made substantial political progress toward sustained recovery since the election of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf—the first elected female president in Africa—in 2005. The Johnson-Sirleaf government has taken steps toward improving the fragile security situation and revamping the country’s socioe- conomic fabric, which was destroyed during the nearly fourteen-year brutal civil conflict. However, while the country remained stable throughout 2007, a high unemployment rate, especially among youths, and the slow process of developing professional security forces, persist as major security concerns. Throughout the year in review, the UN Mis- sion in Liberia (UNMIL) remained deployed and continued its support of the government’s peace consolidation efforts. In August 2007, noting the “great strides in consolidating peace and promoting eco- UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) nomic recovery” in Liberia, the UN Secre- tary-General recommended a gradual, three- phase drawdown of its military forces in the • Authorization and 19 September 2003 (UNSC Res. 1509) Start Date country.1 The Security Council passed Reso- • SRSG and Ellen Margrethe Løj (Denmark) lution 1777 (2007) shortly after the Secretary- Head of Mission General’s report, approving the first phase of • Force Commander Lieutenant-General Chikadibia Isaac the drawdown, and granting a one-year exten- Obiakor (Nigeria) sion to UNMIL. The first phase of the draw- • Police Commissioner Mohammed Ahmed Alhassan (Ghana) down, which began in October 2007 and will • Budget $688.4 million (1 July 2007–30 June 2008) run through September 2008, will see the de- • Strength as of Troops: 13,322 parture of 2,450 troops. An additional 498 po- 31 October 2007 Military Observers: 206 lice officers will depart during the period Police: 1,172 April 2008 to September 2010. Despite the International Civilian Staff: 502 drawdown, by the end of 2010, UNMIL will Local Civilian Staff: 945 still have over 9,000 uniformed personnel in UN Volunteers: 242 Liberia, ranking among the larger global peace For detailed mission information see p. 296. operations. 57 Peacekeeping_3.final.qxd 1/28/08 10:04 AM Page 58 58 • MISSION REVIEWS eventual withdrawal depends on Liberia’s abil- Background ity to manage its own affairs, including the pro- Liberia had been at war since 1989, when the vision of security. Despite relative stability, National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL), during 2007 there were reports of plans to led by Charles Taylor, invaded the country overthrow the government, and on 17 July the from bases in Côte d’Ivoire. The conflict government announced the arrest of George claimed an estimated 200,000 lives, resulted Koukou, former speaker of the National Tran- in injury to thousands more, and uprooted ap- sitional Legislative Assembly, and of Major proximately 1.8 million civilians from their General Charles Julu, former army chief of homes. Additionally, the conflict severely im- staff, on suspicion of plotting to overthrow the pacted Liberia’s immediate neighbors—Sierra government. The two men were charged with Leone, Guinea, and Coté d’Ivoire—as they treason and are still in detention. A third Liber- struggled to cope with waves of refugees from ian, Colonel Andrew Dorbor, had meanwhile Liberia while dealing with their own domestic been arrested in neighboring Côte d’Ivoire, al- challenges. legedly trying to buy arms for the planned The deployment of the ECOWAS Mission coup. in Liberia (ECOMIL) in August 2003 paved Potential regime insecurity is matched by the way for UNMIL. The UN mission was de- personal insecurity. Violent crime, including ployed in October 2005 to oversee implemen- armed robbery leading to serious assault and tation of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement even death, appears to be on the increase. (CPA), signed on 18 August 2004 by the UNMIL reported nineteen incidents of armed Liberian government, Liberians United for assaults on individuals and twenty incidents of Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), the armed attacks on residences in August 2007 in Movement for Democracy in Liberia Monrovia alone, and outside Monrovia some (MODEL), Liberian political parties, and civil dramatic incidents of communal violence have society, under the auspices of the Economic been reported. But senior UNMIL and govern- Community of West African States ment officials caution that the high crime fig- (ECOWAS). Authorized under Chapter VII of ures are the result of better reporting and do the UN Charter, UNMIL was given a mandate not really represent a spike in incidents of to oversee the cease-fire agreement; develop crime. Nevertheless, some serious incidents and implement a disarmament, demobilization, have occurred—notably on 20 June, when ex- reintegration, and repatriation (DDRR) pro- combatants, protesting delays in the payment gram; provide security at key locations; pro- of their subsistence allowances, mounted si- tect UN staff and Liberian civilians under im- multaneous demonstrations in the towns of minent threat; provide humanitarian and Buchanan, Ganta, and Gbarnga. This was fol- human rights assistance; support security sec- lowed by another incident in September, when tor reform; assist in extending state authority former combatants of the national army (the throughout the country; and support the imple- Armed Forces of Liberia [AFL]), attempted a mentation of the peace process, including as- nighttime riot in the heart of Monrovia, block- sistance to national elections held in 2005. ing major roads and intersections. UNMIL po- lice and Liberian personnel intervened in strength to clear them away. Key Developments The insecurity prompted President Johnson- Sirleaf to announce the launch of Operation Security Calm Down Fear, supplementing the earlier Liberia’s peace is still quite fragile, with seri- Operation Sweeping Wave, and to increase ous consequences for not only the Johnson- the number of patrols and spot-checks on ve- Sirleaf government, but also UNMIL, as its hicles in Monrovia. But these robust steps Peacekeeping_3.final.qxd 1/28/08 10:04 AM Page 59 LIBERIA • 59 were undermined by the sheer lack of a depend- able national security apparatus. An UNMIL technical assessment mission made on-the- spot visits to several police stations in the country in June and reported back on the lack of basic equipment such as communication facilities. Security Sector Reform Liberia is still a long way from creating a de- pendable security infrastructure. Attempts at creating a national army from scratch—with a proposed troop strength of 2,000—are being spearheaded by two US private security com- ade panies, DynCorp and Pacific Architect Engi- neers, with US government financial support. DynCorp is responsible for the recruitment Panos/ Aubrey W and provision of basic training to the recruits Members of UNMIL’s all-female formed at the Barclay and Camp Ware training cen- police unit conduct a cordon and search operation ters, while Pacific Architect Engineers is re- in Monrovia, 4 April 2007. sponsible for providing advanced training of the recruits and the construction of the bar- racks, as well as the battalion and brigade have had a positive impact on UNMIL’s drive headquarters, at Camp Kessely near Mon- to recruit more women to the LNP. However, rovia. The training of military personnel has the fact that many women lack the basic edu- been remarkably slow, as by October 2007 cation to be accepted into the police force only 11 officers and 634 noncommissioned hampers such efforts. To tackle this problem, officers had completed the advanced individ- UNMIL launched an initiative aimed at pro- ual training. The program also proved contro- viding women with intensive schooling within versial, with some observers questioning the a short period of time to help them qualify for policy of having a private security force train recruitment to the LNP. Meanwhile, forging a national professional army. an integrated command structure for the LNP Meanwhile, the rebuilding of the Liberian has been slow, and it is difficult to assess, at National Police (LNP), led by UNMIL, has this stage, the quality and impact of the train- progressed faster: over 3,500 police officers ing on the new police force. graduated from the national academy in July Efforts to revamp Liberia’s justice sector 2007. Through UNMIL’s quick-impact proj- have registered slow progress, and the coun- ects, police stations in several counties have try’s judiciary remains in a state of disrepair. been rehabilitated. Other stations in about half An acute shortage of qualified personnel and a dozen other counties are currently being re- woeful infrastructure are some of the major im- habilitated. In addition to providing basic pediments to rebuilding a credible justice sec- training for 3,500 police officers—including tor. Despite these challenges, UNMIL has since an all-female class of 110 police recruits— May 2006 provided training for 336 magis- UNMIL, together with the UN civilian police, trates, 220 justices of peace, 226 prosecutors, has initiated programs designed to strengthen 147 magistrate court clerks, and 53 circuit and the supervisory capacity of the LNP. Supreme Court clerks. UNMIL’s quick-impact The presence of an all-female police con- projects have also rehabilitated nine court- tingent from India in UNMIL is believed to houses, and work is ongoing on several others. Peacekeeping_3.final.qxd 1/28/08 10:04 AM Page 60 60 • MISSION REVIEWS Governance and Resource Management D.C., in February 2007. Shortly after, several In 2006, with the conclusion of the DDR pro- countries, led by the United States, stated they cess, the UN shifted its efforts toward the re- would help Liberia to clear its nearly $4 bil- building of governance institutions more lion in external debt. The framework docu- broadly, as well as toward the consolidation of ment sets out the national socioeconomic con- state authority.
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