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Sub Saharan Africa
Liberia |
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Country information
POLITICS
Following the signing of the CPA, a vast DDR programme (Disarmament, Demobilisation and Reintegration) disarmed over 100,000 combatants in 2005, although reintegration programmes have had only patchy success. UNMIL are deployed over the entire territory to provide security. The CPA created the National Transitional Government of Liberia (NTGL), made up of representatives from former rebel groups, political parties, the former Taylor government and civil society. It has been accused of extensive corruption.
In 2005 Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf won the Presidential elections, with 59% of the vote in the second round run off against the former footballer George Weah. She was inaugurated President of the Republic of Liberia on 16 January 2006, in the presence of high profile international guests including the US Secretary of State, the First Lady of the United States and FCO Envoy Chris Mullin. President Johnson-Sirleaf has faced a daunting set of challenges and does not command a majority in the legislature. She faced a serious challenge from Speaker of the House of Representatives Edwin Snowe in the first half of 2007, but he has since been removed from his position. The judicial system and the security sector in particular need to be rebuilt almost from scratch. Good progress has been made with the reconstruction of the Liberian police force, although a serious incident occurred when a fight broke out between the Liberian Police and the Liberian Seaport authority in July. The reconstruction of the army has taken longer than hoped.
BBC News Country Profile: Liberia
HUMAN RIGHTS
The Liberian civil war saw appalling human rights abuses by all sides. The warring factions used sexual violence and torture as weapons, and recruited child soldiers. President Taylor's regime was contemptuous of democratic principles and human rights. Since the end of the civil war, there have been no significant prosecutions for human rights abuses, but the human rights environment has significantly improved. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission was officially inaugurated on 20 February 2006, with the mandate to gather evidence and testimony concerning the decades of violence the country has suffered. The TRC is mandated to recommend prosecutions or amnesties for individual cases. It has made a slow start. Labour rights remain a contentious subject, particularly with regard to conditions in the rubber and diamond sectors. The death penalty has been reintroduced in 2008.
Annual Human Rights Reports
