A Populations-Based Survey on Attitudes about Security, Dispute Resolution, and Post-Conflict Reconstruction in Liberia
By Patrick Vinck, Phuong Pham, and Tino Kreutzer. Human Rights Center, UC Berkeley, June 2011.
Five years after emerging from decades of civil war, most Liberians perceive many advances in their country, according to surveys. Strong majorities feel safer, few report any ill will to other ethnic groups, and most are eager to participate in national elections. However, growing rural-urban cleavages indicate a need for expanded educational and housing initiatives. Land disputes have also become a driver of tensions and could be better managed through improvements to the formal court system and educational campaigns as to how to access legal services.
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Liberia: The 2011 Elections and Building Peace in the Fragile State
By Lansana Gberie. Institute for Security Studies, October 2010. Liberia has achieved remarkable gains since the end of civil conflict in 2003, but a poorly managed reconciliation process and continuing weaknesses in the legislature and judiciary pose serious challenges. Anticipated reductions in extensive international support could trigger a destabilizing spiral. The African Union and Economic Community of West African States should delay any drawdown and renew their commitment to developing the judicial, political, and security sectors until they are more institutionally sustainable.
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Would You Fight Again? Understanding Liberian Ex-Combatant Reintegration
By Richard Hill, Gwendolyn Taylor, Jonathan Temin. United States Institute of Peace, 2008. The authors discuss the findings of a study on how ex-combatants perceive the effectiveness of the DDRR program and their willingness to re-engage in combat. The report discourages an over-emphasis on tallying of participants in the program as the key indicator of success. Rather greater focus should be placed on the rate ex-combatants are accepted back into the community and the opportunities that exist for them after training, since this is cited as a major cause of their likely return to combat. The authors conclude by emphasizing job creation rather than skills training, tolerance training as part of conflict-resolution efforts, and a further look of why women are more likely to return to combat. Download the Article: [PDF]Oversight of the Liberian National Police
By David C. Gompert, Robert C. Davis, Brooke Stearns Lawson. Rand, 2009. This report reviews the challenges faced by the Liberia National Police (LNP) both logistically and structurally in their effort to provide security in post-conflict Liberia. The study compares these emerging structures with three other established police services on the continent namely South Africa, Nigeria and Ghana and draws on their best practices for recommendations. These include the creation of a mixed oversight (government-independent) body of the police service to enhance professionalism. Download the Article: [PDF]LIBERIA: Uneven Progress in Security Sector Reform
By International Crisis Group, 2009. This ICG reports looks at the successes and challenges facing SSR in Liberia. The report discuses US private contractors’ role in the training of the military and the backlash it has faced. Meanwhile, the DDRR process employed in Liberia has been touted as one of the best in the world, notable for a meticulous vetting process that excluded ex-combatant from joining the new military. The report highlights major threats to the SSR program which includes unemployment for ex-combatants (due to the exclusion under DDRR), a growing number of land disputes, lack of coordination of the security agencies, and the frequent cancellation of human rights and rule of law training due to limited funding. Download the Article: [PDF]
