PRESS CONFERENCE BY Special Representative on liberia

 

Liberia had come a long way in three years and the presence of a robust force gave the Government and the people the time and the space to push ahead with the reform programme and rebuild the national security institutions, Alan Doss, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for that country told correspondents today at Headquarters.

Briefing on the report on the work of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) he had presented to the Security Council yesterday, he highlighted both the progress made in the country, as well as a plan for drawdown of the Mission.  As for the “considerable” progress made, he mentioned a stable security environment, the lifting of sanctions on diamonds and timber, the doubling of the State budget and increase in revenues, and 8 per cent economic growth, as well as an increase in investments.

He added that there was no reason for complacency, however, as there were security concerns along the borders and there were tensions and flare-ups within the country that were often based on unfounded rumours.  Crime, especially in Monrovia, was of great concern.  There were issues with jobs and extending programmes for ex-combatants.  The rule of law sector needed strengthening, especially in the area of criminal justice, and the country’s infrastructure needed enormous investments.

Taking all those challenges into account and following a Security Council request, UNMIL had developed a drawdown plan in three stages, he said.  As there was a need to proceed with caution, there would be a review period after every stage, where progress would be measured against benchmarks, such as building national security institutions -- including a quick reaction unit within the police -- as well as contextual benchmarks, such as strengthening the rule of law and rebuilding infrastructures.  Developments in Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea and Sierra Leone, Liberia’s neighbours, would continue to be monitored.

If all went well, there could be a reduction of about 5,000 troops and approximately 500 police.  It was, however, just a plan and calibrated on progress in benchmarks.  It might look like a large investment in a small country, but it was really an investment in the whole of West Africa because Liberia had been the epicentre of an instability that had progressively spread out and engulfed much of the subregion.

Asked about what happened to former child soldiers in the country, Mr. Doss said that thousands of them had been demobilized, thanks to the efforts of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), among others, and were going through programmes of education and reintegration.  Many of the children were very young, between 10 and 12 years old, and they had been offered opportunities to go back to school or start school, in many cases.  The children’s programme was run separately from the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration programme for adults, and had been quite successful.

It was too early to judge the impact over time, he said, but UNICEF and some of the child protection agencies were following up on that.  Evidence from other countries had shown that there was often some lingering trauma of what had been done to them.  Although the children should be followed over time, it should not be too intrusive.  Children should not forever be labelled “ex-combatant”, as that would just reinforce a sense of marginalization and exclusion.

Asked about lessons learned from Timor-Leste, where initially everything seemed to be going well only to fall apart later on, Mr. Doss said the drawdown programme had been designed carefully in order not to put at risk everything that had been achieved.  That was why it had been designed as a progressive drawdown by stages, between which progress against benchmarks would be measured.  If there were serious problems, the situation would be re-evaluated and recommendations adjusted.

More broadly, there was an agenda of national reconciliation that still needed to be completed, he continued.  There was a heavy legacy of strife and violence that had to be overcome.  Some of the structural problems went back to the founding of the Republic.  They would not be solved in a few weeks or months.  UNMIL was providing the time and space to give the people of Liberia the time and space to take on those issues and begin to deal with some of the problems that led to the war in the first place.

The Security Council had lifted diamond sanctions because Liberia would join the Kimberley verification process, he answered to another question.  UNMIL would continue to work with Liberia to put necessary procedures in place.   Recently, the moratorium on diamond mining had been lifted and, if all went well, the country could start exporting diamonds within a month or so.  Although it was a small industry, proceeds from illegal trading could be used for buying weapons and other illicit activities.  It was important that Liberia got the industry under control and did not become a centre for laundering diamonds.  The Security Council had asked for a review, which will be carried out by the Panel of Experts for Liberia, mandated by the Council and its Sanctions Committee, within 90 days.  One panellist was currently in Liberia.

* *** *

For information media • not an official record