UN Peacekeeping: Enhancing American Interests Better World Campaign

The UN Mission in Liberia

Mission Mandate

In 2003, the UN Security Council adopted Resolution 1509, establishing the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). The Security Council has extended the peacekeeping mission through September 30, 2012.

The Misson's mandate includes:

• Supporting the ceasefire;
• Disengaging armed forces;
• Protecting civilians;
• Promoting human rights;
• Supporting reform of the military and police; and
• Promoting the Peace Process including the national elections.

Background

Liberia was founded by freed American slaves in 1821 with the help of the U.S. government.

In 1989, rebel leader Charles Taylor initiated a civil war after invading Liberia from neighboring Cote d'Ivoire. The war claimed more than 150,000 lives and displaced close to one million people. A 1993 peace agreement negotiated by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and backed by the UN, led to the creation of the United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL). UNOMIL was established to implement the peace agreement and after many delayed elections, Taylor was brought to power in 1997. Having completed its mandate to support the election process, UNOMIL then withdrew from Liberia; however, shortly thereafter, fighting resumed between rebel factions. Read more || Hide text

By 2003, rebel groups controlled roughly two-thirds of the country and the international community increased pressure on Taylor to resign. As a result, he stepped down in August and fled to Nigeria. In 2005, the UN included an additional mandate to apprehend and detain the former president. The International Criminal Court at The Hague is now trying him for war crimes.

In September 2003, the Security Council authorized UNMIL to stabilize and secure Liberia, and in 2005, the country held free and fair elections with Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf becoming the first democratically elected female president in Africa. Her administration has tackled government corruption, strengthened national institutions, and reformed the national security forces with UN and U.S. assistance.

Foreign investment in Liberia has continued to increase since President Johnson-Sirleaf took office in 2006. UNMIL continues to support the Liberian government in its development toward sustainable peace. Since 2003, the United States has contributed over $1 billion in both bilateral assistance to the Liberian government and in assessed contributions to the peacekeeping mission in Liberia.

In October 2011, Liberia held its general and presidential elections. UNMIL worked closely with the National Elections Commission, as well as the Liberia National Police, to ensure fairness and safety nationwide. Since no candidate won an absolute majority during the first round of elections, a run-off was called between incumbent President Sirleaf and opposition candidate Winston Tubman. Sirleaf was declared the winner of the run-off on November 15, 2011 with 90.7%. Throughout the general election process UN peacekeepers played a central role, supporting the delivery of voter registration materials to polling stations throughout the country and deploying troops to curb politically motivated violence. Since their initial deployment eight years ago, UNMIL forces have been very successful in these endeavors, with the International Crisis Group recently calling them “the main guarantor of peace” in the country. In March 2012, the Security Council authorized the mission to begin reducing its numbers from 15,000 troops to 8,000, as the missions enters phase three of its withdrawal plans. In the lead up to September 2012, the focus of the mission’s priority will increasingly focus on infrastructure and governance development as the need for peacekeeping and humanitarian assistance lessens.

How This Affects American Interests

Demobilize, and reintegrate ex-combatants. UNMIL is working with the United States to demilitarize rebel forces and disarm over 100,000 ex-combatants. In its first year, UNMIL over saw the disarmament of over 95,000 ex-combatants. Further, in 2009, UNMIL was actively involved in Liberia’s Disarmament, Demobilization, Reintegration and Rehabilitation (DDRR) program, which disarmed 103,000 and demobilized 101,000 ex-combatants. The UN and its partners provide rehabilitation services such as education and vocational training, with more than 98,000 ex-combatants benefiting from these programs. In March 2012 UNMIL destroyed a cache of weapons discovered in various parts of the country collected over six month period. UNMIL Engineers destroyed the weapons at Star Base, outside Monrovia. They recovered and destroyed arms included grenade launchers, riffles, automatic pistols and several machine guns. The Coordinator of the Joint Mission Analysis Center on Weapon Database at UNMIL, Mr. Byron Martinez, noted that Liberia’s continued progress depends on strengthening of the security sector and disarmament efforts..

Provide support for democratic elections. In the wake of November 8, 2011 run-off elections, UN peacekeepers were instrumental in helping to prevent an escalation of violence as tensions ran high due to the opposition candidate’s call for a boycott of the election. UNMIL was critical in assisting in the growth and reform of the Liberia National Police (LNP) and helped ensure peaceful and democratic elections. During the first round of elections in October 2011, UNMIL provided logistical support for the delivery of voter registration materials to locations around the country, helping to successfully register 1.8 million people, representing 89 percent of eligible voters, of which 49 percent were women. UNMIL and partner groups, in combination with the National Election Commission, encouraged women's participation in the electoral process by holding educational and training seminars for over 400 aspiring women political participants. UNMIL Radio promoted free and fair elections by providing balanced airtime to all political parties and providing a human rights checklist to national observer groups to use during the electoral process. The mission also continues to assist the LNP by training personnel and devising security and contingency plans to promote stability.

Reforms the security sector. Together, the U.S. and the UN are working to support a transparent, trustworthy, and effective security sector. UNMIL is reforming and training the LNP to provide stability and security throughout the country. Since 2003, UNMIL has absorbed 3,500 West African troops of the ECOWAS mission in Liberia (ECOMIL) and helped train 4,153 police officers in emergency response, protection of women and children, criminal investigation, and management. UNMIL has recruited and trained female officers, who comprise 16 percent of the LNP force. From September through December 2009, an increase in police patrolling led to a 50 percent decrease in armed robbery. The U.S. is working to further these improvements in security by contributing 100 UN police advisors to assist in developing Liberia’s strategy for the police force. Additionally, the U.S. employs 51 military mentors dedicated to building a professional and capable police force with the capacity to assume greater command responsibilities. In conjunction with these efforts, the U.S has taken the lead in vetting, reforming, and training the national army, which has resulted in 2,000 capable and well-trained Liberian troops. The U.S. has also completed the United States Army Training and Evaluation Programme for the Armed Forces of Liberia and has sent 61 military personnel to Liberia to begin a defense sector reform program. UNMIL provides the army with training in preventive medicine, radio operations, unexploded ordnance identification and reporting, civil-military cooperation, and other areas. Furthermore, the U.S. is funding the establishment of a Liberian coastguard.

Improving status of women. Women continue to lead Liberia’s peace process as UNMIL and the first female president in Liberia, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf Johnson, work together. Women account for a growing percentage of police peacekeepers within UNMIL. UNMIL’s mandate also includes empowering, promoting and supporting women by working with partners to advance their roles in government and civil society. The UN is supporting the legislature to increase women’s political representation to 30 percent and is helping the LNP to increase female representation in the police force, which currently stands at 200 women, representing 16 percent of the total force. UNMIL is also raising awareness of gender-based violence in primary schools. The Liberian government recently instated an accelerated learning program allowing those whose secondary school educations were disrupted by the war to complete their educations in an abbreviated program. Fourty-four percent of the participants in this program are female.

Ongoing Challenges

Insufficient support and role of the police force. The Liberia National Police have made many strides but are still lacking in critical areas such as efficient management, adequate equipment, and community support. They continue to rely on the international community to fund communications equipment and transportation. The government needs to strengthen the relationship and build trust between police officers and civilians in the wake of incidents of ill-discipline such as harassment of civilians and criminal activity. In addition, the LNP remains understaffed, with a ratio to population of just 1:850, 65-75% of which are stationed in Montesrrado County.

Prevalence of sexual and gender-based violence. Liberia’s 14 year civil war left 40 percent of women affected by gender based violence (GBV). While Liberia is on the path to national recovery, rates of GBV, in particular domestic violence and rape, remain high. Rape still remains the number one crime reported to the Liberian National Police, with most of the victims between the ages of 10 and 19. In 2009, the Liberian government and the UN formed a joint plan to reduce GBV by 30 percent by the end of 2011. Thus far, special courts have been established to hear the backlog of GBV cases, expediting the legal process and encouraging victims to report GBV incidents. Despite improvements in the legal system though, a study conducted by the UN in Liberia tracking cases of sexual violence found that it would take nearly ten years at the current speed the criminal justice system operates to clear the back log of sexual violence cases alone.

Côte d'Ivoire. Fallout from the presidential election in Cote d’Ivoire continues to pose a serious threat to Liberia’s security, as dispute and conflict in the former country has led to movement of thousands of refugees into the latter—there are currently over 181,000 Ivorian refugees in Liberia. Their displacement in Liberia continues to strain the resource limited border towns where they reside, with conflicts emerging over land usage between Ivoirians and Liberians. UNMIL and the Liberian Government have increased their patrolling along the Ivorian border to ensure that Cote d’Ivoire does not draw further combatants from Liberia. The office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees cooperates with groups in Liberia, including the Government, UNOCI and UNMIL to monitor refugee numbers and activities, and for general managerial support. UNMIL helps maintain security in areas hosting refugees.

Human and Drug Trafficking. Liberia continues to be vulnerable to drug trafficking, including heroin and cocaine, transit through Liberia in limited amounts. Domestic production of marijuana is flourishing and in many areas is thought to be replacing other agricultural activities, with large amounts crossing into neighboring countries. There are also reports of human trafficking using similar routes. In May, the government joined the West Africa Coast Initiative, a multi-stakeholder framework regional action plan to address the growing problem of illicit drug trafficking and organized crime in West Africa and in July 2011, the Liberia National Police Transnational Crime Unit began operations. However, porous borders, inadequate training, and equipment, and corruption continue to aid and abet the illicit sail of narcotics.

*Updated April 2012

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