Advocate Melanie Teff and Peacebuilding Program Officer Mark Malan are conducting a mission to Liberia from August 19 to September 3, 2007. The mission will focus on two main issues: security sector reform and the humanitarian needs of Liberians who have returned to their home areas after seeking refuge in other countries and other areas of Liberia during the period of conflict.

The fourteen-year Liberian civil war displaced nearly one-third of the population and took the lives of approximately 250,000 people. Not surprisingly, by the time of the August 2003 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA), the population and the transitional government were deeply mistrustful of law enforcement and military officials. Police and military officers were not regarded as a source of protection, but rather as entities to be feared. A comprehensive reform of Liberia’s security sector is therefore an essential prerequisite for consolidating the gains of post conflict reconstruction and placing the country on a non-reversible track towards good governance.

In December 2006 the official program for returning internally displaced Liberians to their areas of origin came to a close. In July 2007 UNHCR ended its facilitated repatriation program for Liberians who had taken refuge from the conflict in countries in the region. Since the end of the conflict in 2003 more than 150,000 refugees have returned to Liberia and more than 326,000 internally displaced persons have returned to their places of origin. A country of only three million people, Liberia has had to cope with a huge displacement of its population, many of whom remain displaced.

The democratic election in 2005 which led to the inauguration of President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf has raised great hopes and expectations for the rebirth of Liberia as a peaceful and prosperous country. But the Liberian government faces enormous short-term challenges before such a vision may materialize, including the task of establishing rule of law backed by security agencies that are both effective in protecting the populace and subject to civilian oversight and control and of reintegrating displaced peoples and rebuilding communities. Meeting such challenges will require the continued support of the international community during and beyond the transition from humanitarian crisis and emergency response to peacebuilding and development.

In this context, RI will assess progress made with the reform of Liberia’s security sector, as well as current efforts to meet the humanitarian and protection needs of Liberian returnees and their host communities. The team will assess security conditions in the areas of return, and the availability of basic services for returnees and host communities, particularly focusing on the needs of vulnerable groups, including survivors of sexual and gender-based violence and former child soldiers. They will also consider the situation of internally-displaced Liberians who have not returned to their counties of origin.