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Sub Saharan Africa
Liberia |
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Country information
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
The civil war in Liberia spilled over into conflict with neighbouring countries. Taylor backed the 10-year RUF rebellion in Sierra Leone from 1991 and profited from the trade in Sierra Leone diamonds, illegally mined and smuggled by the RUF. Since the end of the war political relations with neighbours have improved. Many Liberian refugees across west Africa have returned over the last 2 years.
Liberia, together with its neighbours Guinea and Sierra Leone, belong to the Mano River Union (MRU), established in 1973. Difficult political relations between the 3 countries meant that it never got off the ground. It was re-launched in May 2004 with a focus on mutual security. An International Contact Group on Liberia (ICGL) was launched in September 2002. It's chaired jointly by the Nigerians and European Commission, while ECOWAS acts as the Secretariat. The UN, African Union, United States, UK, France, Germany, Sweden, Ghana and the World Bank are all members. At the international level, its mandate was expanded in September 2004 to include Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Cote d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone and its name changed to the International Contact Group for the Mano River Basin (ICG-MRB), although the ICL still meets at the local level in Monrovia.
A United Nations peacekeeping mission was established in Liberia in 2003. At its peak it comprised of over 15,000 troops and a significant police component. In September 2007 its numbers were reduced by 2,450, a reduction scheduled to take place over 1 year (UN Security Council Resolution 1777, 2007).
The UN Security Council imposed sanctions against Liberia in 2001 in response to President Taylor's support for the RUF in Sierra Leone, comprising of an arms embargo, a ban on the trade of rough diamonds and the timber trade, and a travel ban for certain named individuals. The bans on timber and diamonds have now been lifted. On 12 March 2004 the UN Security Council imposed an assets freeze against Charles Taylor, his close family and associates to prevent them using misappropriated funds to undermine peace and stability in Liberia. Successive Panels of Experts have monitored the implementation of these sanctions and advised on how structures may be put in place to allow them to be lifted.
Documents relating to the work of the Liberia sanctions committees and Panels of Experts can be found at:
UN Security Council
Liberia's Relations with the UK
Diplomatic Representation
The British Ambassador to Liberia resides in Freetown. A UK political officer is based in Monrovia, accommodated in the US Embassy. Residents in Liberia wishing to travel to the UK should make visa applications at the British High Commission in Accra.
Policy
For parliamentary interest in Liberia see the Hansard website.
