These, the fleeing refugees, must be at the centre of sustaible  peace

Reestablishing Civil Authority in Africa’s Oldest Republic

By Tom Kamara

Voinjama: Withering civil authority
has sent hundreds of thousands into
harsh "urban" conditions
 

5 June o4

The UN specialises in non-offensive use of language. So in its recent report on Liberia, it could not directly declare that Charles Taylor’s reign destroyed what was left of civil Liberia’s weak and politically polluted civil authority. It simply said the country, even under the indicted war criminal, lacked civil authority outside the capital “for a number of factors.” Laborious search through the report for the “factors” was fruitless, but knowing the factors is not  for Liberians, who do not have to read reports to understand why their country became a super criminal state under Charles Taylor. 

 The destruction of civil authority, the cornerstone for socio-economic development, was revealed in Charles Taylor’s electoral platform in 1997. The rulers of Liberia, he declared, would be members of his rebel organization, and he intended to have 15,000 of them to reign if Liberians elected him. They did. The rebels therefore became overlords in rural areas, feeding on the rural population. As policemen, judges, jurors they emerged as civil authority figures; they decided who lived and who died, who ate and who went hungry. In the process, mass of people of people, robbed of security, migrated to the not-so-safe capital, where hell would descend upon them.  Taylor destroyed their shacks, and ordered them to return to their non-existent towns and villages to produce food for his rebels, now civil authority figures, to steal. He indicted them for depending on relief organizations, and vowed to end the dependence through what he knew best—sending his thugs on them.  The result is chaos and lack of authority, something the UN must now handle for a state conceived as the black man’s pride in self-governance. 

In this not so enviable task, the United Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) now has taken the responsibility of establishing civil authority in areas with no infrastructure. Court houses, police stations, schools, clinic, and anything that resembled civil authority, was the enemy of the people under the slogan, “Above all else, the people.” It was a prophetic slogan falling from Taylor’s lips, because the people became the targets of his terror. “Above all else the people.”

Now, with the UN, there  seems to be a good beginning. From its work so far, the UN understands that the first order in reestablishing civil authority is the security insurance. Without a professional security force sanitised and cleansed of rebel image, rural people, having experienced terror for over a decade, are unlikely to return. But the UN is working on with a comprehensive plan. The Secretary-General, in his report, said:  

 “The registration of Liberian law enforcement personnel is proceeding on schedule. As at 1 May, 3,492 members of the Liberian National Police had been registered, including 1,252 from the former Special Security Service, 171 members of the Monrovia City Police, 494 members of the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization and 201 members of other agencies. It is envisaged that the registration process will be completed by September 2004. So far, UNMIL has trained 530 Liberian National Police officers who have met the basic eligibility requirements and will serve as the Liberia National Police for an interim period. The UNMIL gender component has provided intensive training since January 2004 for these interim police officers, aimed at raising awareness in respect of gender, gender-based violence and gender issues in policing.

"A major project to rehabilitate the police station at Bushrod Island in Monrovia was successfully completed in April. The station is staffed by interim police officers, who are complemented by UNMIL civilian police advisers. In support of the interim training for Liberian police personnel at Roberts International Airport, the Government of Sweden has donated equipment to assist in the proper examination of passports..."

To undertake reforms needed for sustainable security environment, UNMIL has also established “a Rule of Law Implementation Committee has been established to coordinate the reform of the police, the judiciary and correctional institutions. The Committee — which is chaired by the Deputy Special Representative for Rule of Law and comprises the Minister of Justice, the National Security Adviser, a representative of the Chief Justice, the Director of the Liberian National Police and representatives of the UNMIL civilian police, corrections, judiciary and human rights components — is currently formulating the strategy for the reform and restructuring of the police force, which has been renamed the Liberian Police Service. The Committee has finalized the eligibility criteria for recruitment into the Liberian Police Service. In order to ensure a holistic approach in supporting the reform of Liberia’s security sector.

Recruitment of competent police officers is in progress. but the report said, “Current members of the Liberian National Police will not be automatically recruited into the new service; they will have to meet the newly established criteria. Selected candidates will enter a three-month training programme at the Liberian Police Service Training Centre, which is scheduled to begin on 1 July. This will be followed by a six-month on-the-job training programme, after which the recruits will return to the Academy for final testing. UNMIL is also working in partnership with the Ministries of Justice, Health and Education in order to implement proper medical screening and ascertain the educational qualifications of the candidates. It is hoped that funding will be forthcoming for the rehabilitation and expansion of the capacity of the Police Service Training Centre. With donor support, UNMIL expects to increase the very limited capacity at the site of the previous Liberian Police Academy, from fewer than 100 to 600 recruits per session. This would allow the training of some 1,800officers for the Liberian Police Service before the national elections scheduled for October 2005.

The report described problems confronting the judiciary as “tremendous””, but this may an underestimation. The judiciary is one of the most politicized institutions in the country, and getting it  to reflect its responsibilities as an impartial sergeant of justice is a Herculean task. But the UN says it is “closely (working) with interested international partners, officials from other United Nations agencies and national legal professionals from the judiciary, the Ministry of Justice, the Defence Bar and civil society in order to constructively address the tremendous problems facing the legal and judicial system. In this regard, efforts have been made to secure funding through the UNMIL quick-impact project programme to commence small-scale but essential rehabilitation work on the infrastructure of the Temple of Justice in Monrovia. UNMIL has also started its monitoring, advisory and training programmes. Beginning with Monrovia, the institutional advisers and monitors are now being co-located in the relevant rule-of-law institutions to enable UNMIL to track progress and make appropriate recommendations. Furthermore, UNMIL continues to work closely with the Chief Justice to coordinate plans for the opening of circuit and magistrates courts after the disarmament, demobilization, rehabilitation and reintegration exercise is complete and the counties are declared secure. In this regard, judges have already been vetted and 17 courts (criminal, civil and specialized) have been reconstituted, mainly in Monrovia and its environs, with the exception of one circuit court in Kakata.

The UN also has the task of reforming the horrible prison system made far worst under Charles Taylor, himself an escaped prisoner from US Federal prison. The report says:  “The UNMIL corrections component continues to work with the Ministry of Justice and local and international non-governmental organizations on the development of the correctional system in Liberia. Monrovia Central Prison opened on 24 March, with 19 cells refurbished by ICRC. While it is far from being an ideal facility, the opening was intended to relieve some of the crowding at police holding cells in Monrovia. Unfortunately, with the opening of the prison came a significant number of new detainees. There are currently only four functioning prisons in Liberia: Monrovia Central, Bondiway, Kakata Central and Saniquellie. Each is still substandard and understaffed. Police holding cells continue to be used to house court detainees where no prison exists. Policies are in place requiring the separation of women and children; however, separate facilities for these groups do not exist.  The National Transitional Government of Liberia continues to struggle with the provision of food, medical care and transport of prisoners. Temporary assistance provided by international agencies has helped to provide care for prisoners. Forty-five staff have been trained as interim correctional officers. This number is insufficient, but individuals are unwilling to work for the current government salaries. Work has also commenced on a penal reform development plan.

30. With regard to the restructuring of the armed forces, discussions are ongoing between the United States Government, which is taking the lead on this important task, and the National Transitional Government of Liberia on key issues, including the criteria for recruitment and the anticipated size of a restructured army. In addition, during a visit to Monrovia on 8 May, the Chief of Defence Staff of Nigeria indicated his country’s readiness to consider assistance in training military personnel for the restructured Liberian army, if so requested by the Liberian authorities.

The UN report says its mission is working along with the Ministry of Justice, which is under rebel command, amongst other institutions,  “to formulate and execute a comprehensive strategy for the return of government officials to their areas of authority. It should be noted that even in areas where the former Government of Liberia was in control, civil authority and administration were lacking due to a number of factors. Besides security concerns, officials continue to lack basic facilities and the resources to rehabilitate or reconstruct public facilities. In Monrovia, most government ministries still lack the basic equipment and logistics support necessary to effectively carry out their assigned

functions.”                                                                  

Civil authority in rural areas represents one of the most glaring signals of return to normalcy in the country because without a secure and productive rural sector, the economy stands no chance of revival, and this will enhance the mass migration to squalid Monrovia covered human fesses periodically, no water, no electricity and no work. The UN’s plan, if well implemented, provides hope of beginning to pick the pieces from under Charles Taylor’s feet. It says: 

"Since early April, UNMIL has begun to deploy civil affairs officers in various parts of the country, including to the four sector headquarters in Tubmanburg, Buchanan, Zwedru and Monrovia, as well as in Robertsport, Bensonville, Kakata, Tapeta, Greenville, Gbarnga, Sinje and Voinjama. They have initiated contacts with existing local and traditional authorities and other groups on the ground. Civil affairs officers would also be assigned the task of providing assistance to the National Transitional Government of Liberia and other relevant agencies handling the implementation of projects for the reintegration of ex-combatants, internally displaced persons and returnees in their communities.

 “With the support and encouragement of the civil affairs component of UNMIL, the Minister of Internal Affairs established a task force for the restoration of civil authority to formulate a phased and gradual deployment of government officials to all counties. To date, superintendents have been deployed to Bong, Margibi, Montserrado, Grand Bassa and Nimba counties. Plans for deployment to the counties where UNMIL has begun the disarmament of combatants are at an advanced stage. However, two major problems stand in the way of this programme:  disputes between local authorities appointed by the armed factions and the devastated state of facilities and infrastructure. Regarding the former, civil affairs officers have often intervened to ensure that such disputes are resolved amicably. In the latter case, it has been agreed with the Ministry that a needs-assessment mission involving UNMIL, UNDP, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and other partners should, as a matter of priority, be fielded to take stock of infrastructure at the county level.”