January 2004
In the second half of 2003, a peace agreement between the Liberian government and two rebel insurgencies, the departure into exile of former President Charles Taylor, and the deployment of the first tranche of a mandated 15,000-strong United Nations (U.N.) peacekeeping force brought about an uneasy end to the renewed civil war dating from 2000. The peace agreement signed on August 18, 2003 in Accra, Ghana provided for the disarmament of an estimated 40,000 fighters and the formation of a broad-based transitional government which will guide Liberia to fresh elections in 2005.
While the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers in late 2003 in and around Monrovia brought about marked improvements in the human rights situation there, attacks against civilians by former government troops, LURD and MODEL continued in the hinterland. Accountability for past abuses remains unclear: although the peace agreement provides for a truth and reconciliation commission, it also says that a recommendation for a general amnesty will be considered by the transitional government at a future date. The Nigerian government, which offered Charles Taylor a safe haven in August 2003 when rebels threatened to take Monrovia itself, has refused to hand him over to the Special Court for Sierra Leone, which has indicted him for war crimes connected with his support for rebels in Sierra Leone.
- Ongoing Insecurity and Related Abuses
- Abuses by Government Forces
- Abuses by LURD Forces
- Abuses by MODEL Forces
- The Use of Child Soldiers by Government Forces, LURD, and MODEL
- Small Arms, Mercenaries, Sanctions
- Key International Actors
Ongoing Insecurity and Related Abuses
The rural areas of Liberia continue to be plagued by insecurity. By December 2003, only 5,000 of peacekeepers from the U. N. Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) had been deployed, with promised contributions of troops from Pakistan, Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Ukraine yet to arrive. In this vacuum, all three factions (government forces, LURD, and MODEL) continued both to fight among themselves and to harass and attack the civilian population. As of mid-November there were armed skirmishes between members of the three warring factions in Nimba, Grand Bassa, and Bong counties. Abuses by all three groups against civilians mainly consisted of forced labor (portering food and looted goods), rape and sexual violence, and looting of civilian property, especially food items. Protection of the civilian population remains an urgent priority.
Abuses by Government Forces
During rebel attacks on Monrovia in June-August 2003, government forces committed widespread rape and sexual violence, particularly around the Bushrod Island area. Government forces also heavily recruited new fighters, many of them children, during LURD's offensives earlier in the year. Following Taylor's departure and the UNMIL deployment in Monrovia, some government forces, particularly young and recently recruited fighters, retreated into camps for the internally displaced around Monrovia. Others moved north towards their former strongholds in Nimba County. As of December 2003 abuses committed by government militias, mostly looting and forced labor, were mainly taking place in Nimba and Bong counties.
Abuses by LURD Forces
LURD forces held most of the southwest and northwest of the country at the end of 2003. Areas under LURD control are dominated by large numbers of young, undisciplined fighters, including many children. Indiscriminate LURD shelling of government areas in the capital Monrovia in June-August 2003 resulted in the deaths of hundreds of civilians. Other abuses by LURD before, during and since that period include forced labor, looting, rape and extrajudicial killings. LURD abuses are concentrated within the former Taylor stronghold of Nimba County, and in Bong County, where they have continued to skirmish with former government troops.
Abuses by MODEL Forces
At the end of 2003, MODEL held most of the south-eastern Liberia and continued to operate freely across the border with Côte d'Ivoire from the Ivorian town Toulepleu and other locations. During the fight for and after they captured the Grand Bassa area in July-August 2003, MODEL troops subjected civilians to forced labor, particularly portering of goods and food, and engaged in widespread looting of civilian property, sometimes accompanied by rape and other forms of sexual violence. Skirmishes between MODEL and government militias in River Cess County continued to displace hundreds of civilians and generate accounts of rape and forced labor in November 2003.
The Use of Child Soldiers by Government Forces, LURD, and MODEL
Government militias and rebel fighters forcefully recruited and used children as combatants throughout both the first and second civil wars. In advancing on the capital in early 2003, LURD forces rounded up civilians from internally displaced camps, pressing hundreds of children into service. Around the same time, government militias and paramilitaries operating in and around the capital also conducted roundups of children at schools, displaced camps, and from the streets, creating units that were composed primarily of child soldiers. Given scant training and instruction, children were used on the front lines, operating automatic weapons, mortars and rocket propelled grenade launchers. Children committed serious atrocities against the civilian population including, killings, mutilation, rape and sexual violence, and looting. Girls were used as fighters by all three warring factions. Many girls were also abducted and sexually assaulted. Collectively known as "wives" these girls and young women were also charged with cooking and cleaning, carrying supplies and spying on opposition forces.
Small Arms, Mercenaries, Sanctions
The inflow and circulation of arms, particularly small arms and light weapons, together with the proliferation of ill disciplined fighters and unaccountable mercenaries, have contributed to conflict and human rights abuses in West Africa, including Liberia. An arms embargo has been in place on all warring factions in Liberia since 1992, but has failed miserably. In 2004, a main challenge is to disarm and successfully reintegrate (or repatriate) the fighters. U.N. disarmament efforts are scheduled to begin in February 2004 after an aborted attempt in late 2003. In December 2003, the U.N. Security Council voted to reapply the arms embargo and a travel ban on certain individuals, pending further stabilization of the situation there. It also reapplied other sanctions on Liberia, which include embargoes on diamond and timber exports, until the new government is able to assert effective and transparent control over these revenue sources.
Key International Actors
The success of the July 2003 rebel assault on the capital Monrovia, coupled with the June unsealing of the Special Court for Sierra Leone's indictment of President Taylor, mobilized the international community, primarily the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the U.N., to take a more proactive role in finding a solution to Liberia's four-year conflict.
ECOWAS hosted two months of peace talks in Accra, Ghana which culminated in the August signing of a peace agreement, one week after President Charles Taylor fled into exile. In early August, ECOWAS, acting with Security Council authorization, deployed a 3,500 multinational force to implement the cease-fire.
On September 19, 2003, United Nations Security Council resolution 1509 established UNMIL to support the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and the peace process; protect U.N. staff, facilities and civilians; support humanitarian and human rights activities; and assist in national security reform, including national police training and formation of a new, restructured military. The UNMIL force is scheduled to reach 15,000, including over 1,100 U.N. policemen, by early 2004. On December 1, 2003, the U. N. formally launched a U.S.$50 million program to disarm an estimated 40,000 fighters in Liberia and reintegrate them into civilian life.
The United States' refusal to commit ground troops during the rebel assault on Monrovia provoked disappointment from Liberians and members of the international community. However, the U.S. Congress unexpectedly added a commitment of $200 million in humanitarian assistance to Liberia to the Bush administration's request for $87 billion for U.S. efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan. Congress also approved $240 million for U.N. peacekeeping in Liberia.
Related Material
More on Human Rights in Liberia
Country Page
HRW World Report 2004
Report, January 26, 2004