PANAPRESS
Panafrican News Agency
UN: Envoy says Liberia faces challenges to consolidate peace
New York, US (PANA) - Ms. Karin Landgren, head of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), says as Liberia enters its second post-conflict decade, it faces great challenges to institutionalizing critical sector reforms and building capacity for effective governance.
Ms. Landgren, who briefed the UN Security Council on Liberia, said that seizing the present window of opportunity would be critical for consolidating the country’s hard-won peace and charting a future of inclusive development.
She stated: "These are complex and daunting processes, as even before the war, Liberia had few well-functioning meritocratic institutions and effective accountability mechanisms."
She said despite a relatively stable political and security landscape, the country still faced daunting challenges in reforming critical sectors.
According to her voices across a wide spectrum continued to express dissatisfaction with national authorities and policies.
The envoy noted that unions were holding demonstrations, health workers had staged two strikes since December, and protesting students shuttered the main university for three months.
"Much is at stake here and stability and confidence will need to be maintained," she noted.
"As Liberia enters its second post-conflict decade since the end of a 14-year-long civil war that caused 150,000 deaths and displaced 750,000 citizens, progress in constitutional, electoral, health and education reforms are fundamentally important for Liberia’s future character, which should link to national reconciliation.
"The National Reconciliation Roadmap provided a path forward in that respect, yet the government’s contribution to its implementation has been limited so far," she stated.
Ms. Landgren, however, said that still, some gains could be seen across sectors, with recent efforts to secure greater public accountability included an investigation into bribery allegations involving the National Oil Company, and the indictment on conspiracy charges of former senior officials in the logging sector.
She said that a Liberian was now leading the Armed Forces for the first time since the end of the civil war in 2003, and commitments undertaken by the Minister for Finance, as well as the President, were expected to boost the security sector.
In addition, a United Nations development framework is due to be signed with the Liberian National Police next week.
"Yet concerns remain; with elections due in October, only 60,000 out of 400,000 voters have registered, and public trust in the criminal justice system remains low.
"Despite a long period of calm, the situation along the eastern border with Cote d’Ivoire and Liberia remains fragile," she added.
She also disclosed that, as UNMIL prepared to complete the second of its three-phase military drawdown in June, UN troops were already withdrawing from areas around the border with Sierra Leone.
Mr. Staffan Tillander, Chair of the Liberia Configuration of the UN Peacebuilding
Commission, who also briefed the Council, called for a sustained focus on challenges in key sectors, including justice and the rule of law, where progress had been slow.
"Advances were seen in managing land and natural resources, and in fighting corruption, according to government officials, but more needs to be done, including ensuring sustainable management of the former and strengthening oversight of the latter. Police training must also improve," he emphasized.
He recalled that during his recent visit to Liberia, he had called for strengthening weak public trust by adopting a comprehensive approach to revamping political and judicial services to ensure strong oversight.
Mr. Tillander said regional justice and security hubs in three counties were now delivering services and preventing conflicts from escalating.
He warned, however, that such positive developments were not happening fast enough, especially in view of UNMIL’s drawdown later this year.
"While the international community certainly can play an important supporting role, there is no substitute for Liberian ownership, political will and leadership," he stressed.
-0- PANA AA/MA 21March2014
Ms. Landgren, who briefed the UN Security Council on Liberia, said that seizing the present window of opportunity would be critical for consolidating the country’s hard-won peace and charting a future of inclusive development.
She stated: "These are complex and daunting processes, as even before the war, Liberia had few well-functioning meritocratic institutions and effective accountability mechanisms."
She said despite a relatively stable political and security landscape, the country still faced daunting challenges in reforming critical sectors.
According to her voices across a wide spectrum continued to express dissatisfaction with national authorities and policies.
The envoy noted that unions were holding demonstrations, health workers had staged two strikes since December, and protesting students shuttered the main university for three months.
"Much is at stake here and stability and confidence will need to be maintained," she noted.
"As Liberia enters its second post-conflict decade since the end of a 14-year-long civil war that caused 150,000 deaths and displaced 750,000 citizens, progress in constitutional, electoral, health and education reforms are fundamentally important for Liberia’s future character, which should link to national reconciliation.
"The National Reconciliation Roadmap provided a path forward in that respect, yet the government’s contribution to its implementation has been limited so far," she stated.
Ms. Landgren, however, said that still, some gains could be seen across sectors, with recent efforts to secure greater public accountability included an investigation into bribery allegations involving the National Oil Company, and the indictment on conspiracy charges of former senior officials in the logging sector.
She said that a Liberian was now leading the Armed Forces for the first time since the end of the civil war in 2003, and commitments undertaken by the Minister for Finance, as well as the President, were expected to boost the security sector.
In addition, a United Nations development framework is due to be signed with the Liberian National Police next week.
"Yet concerns remain; with elections due in October, only 60,000 out of 400,000 voters have registered, and public trust in the criminal justice system remains low.
"Despite a long period of calm, the situation along the eastern border with Cote d’Ivoire and Liberia remains fragile," she added.
She also disclosed that, as UNMIL prepared to complete the second of its three-phase military drawdown in June, UN troops were already withdrawing from areas around the border with Sierra Leone.
Mr. Staffan Tillander, Chair of the Liberia Configuration of the UN Peacebuilding
Commission, who also briefed the Council, called for a sustained focus on challenges in key sectors, including justice and the rule of law, where progress had been slow.
"Advances were seen in managing land and natural resources, and in fighting corruption, according to government officials, but more needs to be done, including ensuring sustainable management of the former and strengthening oversight of the latter. Police training must also improve," he emphasized.
He recalled that during his recent visit to Liberia, he had called for strengthening weak public trust by adopting a comprehensive approach to revamping political and judicial services to ensure strong oversight.
Mr. Tillander said regional justice and security hubs in three counties were now delivering services and preventing conflicts from escalating.
He warned, however, that such positive developments were not happening fast enough, especially in view of UNMIL’s drawdown later this year.
"While the international community certainly can play an important supporting role, there is no substitute for Liberian ownership, political will and leadership," he stressed.
-0- PANA AA/MA 21March2014
