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11. Sexual and gender-based violence in Liberia and the case for a comprehensive approach to the rule of law

Author:
Niels Nagelhus Schia and Benjamin de Carvalho
Publication Date:
01-2011
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
Journal of International Relations and Development
Institution:
Central and East European International Studies Association
Abstract:
Since the end of the conflict in Liberia, one of the main priorities of the UN Mission (UNMIL), UN agencies, NGOs and INGOs has been to address the very high level of sexual violence against women and children, often known through the 'SGBV' acronym (Sexual and Gender-Based Violence).This focus has led to a number of initiatives from the international community, including a joint UN and Government of Liberia national strategy on the implementation of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (Government of Liberia 2009); the creation of a ministry for gender issues; and a number of campaigns aimed at engendering awareness of the problem.
Topic:
Security and United Nations
Political Geography:
Liberia

12. Local Ownership in Practice: Justice System Reform in Kosovo and Liberia

Author:
Leopold von Carlowitz
Publication Date:
03-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF)
Abstract:
Achieving local ownership is crucial for the success of justice reform programmes as part of international rule of law assistance and security sector reform (SSR) activities. In his 2004 report on the rule of law and transitional justice, the UN Secretary-General emphasized that 'Ultimately, no rule of law reform, justice reconstruction, or transitional justice initiative imposed from the outside can hope to be successful or sustainable.' He claimed that the United Nations 'must learn better how to respect and support local ownership, local leadership and a local constituency of reform, while at the same time remaining faithful to the United Nations norms and standards.'
Topic:
Privatization, United Nations, and Law
Political Geography:
Kosovo, Balkans, and Liberia

13. US Policy on Small Arms Transfers: A Human Rights Perspective

Author:
Susan Waltz
Publication Date:
10-2007
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
Human Rights Human Welfare (University of Denver)
Abstract:
From Somalia and Afghanistan to Bosnia, Haiti, Colombia, Rwanda, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Congo, small arms and light weapons were a common feature of the human rights calamities of the 1990's. More than a hundred low-intensity conflicts flared across the globe in that final decade of the bloodiest century, and virtually all of them were fought with small arms and light weaponry. Hand grenades, rocket-propelled grenades and bazookas, mortars, machine guns, and shoulder-fired missiles were the common weapons of warfare, along with the ubiquitous AK- 47--as readily slung over the shoulder of a 14 year old boy as a 40 year old man. Human rights and humanitarian organizations pondered the evidence: there was an inescapable linkage between the abuses they sought to curb, and the prevalence of these easy to handle, durable, and imminently portable weapons. In many instances the weapons were used as direct instruments of repression and devastation. In others, armed groups and government-sponsored militia used them to facilitate assaults with cruder weapons, spread fear, and create insecurity that effectively deprived people of their livelihood. Ironically, none of the countries in turmoil produced their own small arms. Behind the plethora of weapons lurked shadowy arms dealers looking for a profit, indifferent to the public's moral outrage and UN-imposed arms embargoes.
Topic:
Foreign Policy, Arms Control and Proliferation, Human Rights, Human Welfare, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Afghanistan, United States, Bosnia, Colombia, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Haiti, Liberia, Sierra Leone, Rwanda, and Somalia

14. Security Sector Reform in Liberia: Domestic Considerations and the Way Forward

Author:
Dorina Bekoe and Christina Parajon
Publication Date:
04-2007
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
United States Institute of Peace
Abstract:
Security Sector Reform (SSR) is one of the four major objectives pursued by the Liberian government as it rebuilds after the fifteen-year civil war. The innovative approaches and framework employed by the government of Liberia and the international community to reform the Liberian security sector after the civil war were discussed at a meeting of the Liberia Working Group, an initiative of the United States Institute of Peace. The meeting, which took place on February 21, 2007 featured Ambassador Jacques Paul Klein, former United Nations special representative of the secretary general in Liberia (UNSRSG), and Andy Michels and Sean McFate, co-founders of Interlocutor Group. The panelists provided an overview of the policy framework used for security reform in post-conflict Liberia and the challenges facing Liberia in rebuilding its security services. This USIPeace Briefing highlights the central points of the meeting and summarizes recommendations for the way forward. Most of the discussion during the working group meeting centered on the reform of the army, although key points on police reform are also noted.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, Communism, and United Nations
Political Geography:
Africa, United States, and Liberia

15. Rebuilding Liberia: Prospects and Perils

Publication Date:
01-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
International Crisis Group
Abstract:
Liberia is a collapsed state that has become in effect a UN protectorate. Whether its political and economic reconstruction can begin depends on how quickly security spreads throughout the country. Squabbles over jobs by leaders of the armed factions have caused near-paralysis in the transitional government. Faction leaders tried to block disarmament until they received more jobs, boding ill for the peace process. The display of cynicism and greed by fighters and political leaders alike has undermined international confidence ahead of the donors' conference that meets in New York, 5-6 February 2004.
Topic:
Conflict Resolution, Security, International Cooperation, Treaties and Agreements, and United Nations
Political Geography:
New York and Liberia