LM Report 2005

Liberia

Key developments since May 2004: On 20 October 2004, Liberia submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report, originally due by 28 November 2000. The “nil” report indicates that Liberia has no stockpile of antipersonnel mines, including for training purposes, and no areas containing or suspected to contain antipersonnel mines. Liberia’s treaty-mandated deadline for destroying any stocks of antipersonnel mines, 1 June 2004, passed without Liberia officially informing States Parties that it had met the obligation. On 16 September 2005, Liberia joined Amended Protocol II (Landmines) of the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

Mine Ban Policy

The Republic of Liberia acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty on 23 December 1999 and it entered into force for the country on 1 June 2000. Liberia has not taken any legislative or other measures to implement the treaty domestically, as required by Article 9.

Liberia submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report on 20 October 2004, together with a cover letter from the Minister of Defense. The report was originally due by 28 November 2000. With the exception of Form A on national measures, which is left blank, every other form in the report states “not applicable” or “nothing to report.”^[1] The letter states, “We wish to assure you that the National Transitional Government under the Chairmanship of H.E. Charles Gyude Bryant, will continue to uphold the spirit of the treaty banning all APMs and related devices.”^[2] Liberia did not attend the First Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty, held in Nairobi in November-December 2004, or the intersessional meetings held in Geneva in June 2005. Liberia has only participated in one of the five annual Meetings of States Parties (in 2000), and has never participated in the intersessional meetings, which began in 1999.

On 16 September 2005, Liberia joined Amended Protocol II (Landmines), and Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War, of the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

Stockpiling, Production, Transfer and Use

Liberia’s treaty-mandated deadline for destroying any stocks of antipersonnel mines was 1 June 2004. The deadline passed without Liberia officially informing States Parties that it had met the obligation, either through an Article 7 report or some other means. Its “nil” Article 7 report submitted in October 2004 says “not applicable” on the forms for stockpiled mines, mines retained for training, and destruction of stockpiled mines.

Liberia’s military claims that it has not produced, transferred, stockpiled or used antipersonnel mines. In his letter accompanying the Article 7 report, the Minister of Defense states that Liberia’s “National Defense Policy has never permitted the purchase for inclusion in our inventories, Anti-Personnel Mines.”^{[3 ]} In January 2004, a military official informed Landmine Monitor that the Armed Forces of Liberia have never possessed landmines.^{[4 ]} UNICEF has also reported that Liberian military leaders claim never to have possessed mines.^{[5 ]}

There were no reports of use of antipersonnel mines by anyone in Liberia in 2004 or the first half of 2005. It appears antipersonnel mines were not used during the second civil war (1999-2003), and no landmines have been handed in during the disarmament process.^[6]

Landmines were used during the country’s first civil war (1989-1997). Most observers place responsibility on the now-defunct National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPLF), led by former president Charles Taylor.^{[7 ]} The current Minister of Defense, Daniel Chea, a close collaborator of Taylor’s during the first civil war, has said that the NPFL did not possess antipersonnel landmines.^{[8 ]} In this period, ECOMOG^{[9 ]}laid mines around its installations; records of this mine-laying reportedly exist, but have not been made public.^{[10 ]} In his October 2005 letter, Defense Minister Chea said that ECOMOG “did employ the use of APMs to a limited extent. Regrettably, the Force did not share any information with the Ministry of National Defense on the type and deployment area of the hardware used.”^{[11 ]}

Landmine and ERW Problem

Liberia is contaminated with explosive remnants of war (ERW), in the form of mines, abandoned explosive ordnance (AXO) and unexploded ordnance (UXO), as a result of almost 14 years of internal and regional warfare involving neighboring Sierra Leone, Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire.^{[12 ]} No comprehensive survey or assessment of mine or ERW contamination has been conducted in Liberia. Although recent assessments by UNMAS (September 2003) and UNICEF (April-May 2004) only covered parts of the country, both concluded that landmines and UXO were not a major problem in comparison with other issues facing the country, but that UXO would be the larger of the two obstacles.^{[13 ]} The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) states that “despite the rumor, we have not found any landmines, only some UXO (mainly RPG-7, mortar shell and grenades),”^{[14 ]}as well as arms caches that UNMIL retrieves in collaboration with local village chiefs.^{[15 ]}

An earlier survey by UNOMIL (the UN Observer Mission in Liberia that preceded UNMIL) estimated in 1995 the presence of more than 18,000 landmines in the country. In 1997, ECOMOG announced that “all mines had been cleared.”^{[16 ]} An informal local organization, the Buchanan research group, conducted a landmine/UXO survey in 2001, which found that the Buchanan area in the Grand Bassa county, east of the capital Monrovia, still had suspected mined areas across agricultural land, roads and footpaths, and that no demarcation had taken place.^{[17 ]}

On 8 May 2004, an UNMIL explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) team checked one reported minefield, named New York camp in the Palm Bay area in the Grand Bassa County, but found nothing. EOD teams also fenced the house of an ex-minister who had served under the former president, Charles Taylor, after reports that it might be surrounded by landmines.^[18]

Two unexploded “bombs”^{[19 ]}were discovered in May 2005 in a cotton tree by a resident of Front Street in the capital, Monrovia, and were defuzed by UNMIL. However, a resident of the area indicated that many others remained after being used in the course of fighting in Monrovia in April 1996.^[20]

Mine and ERW Clearance

Liberia is committed by Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, and no later than 1 June 2010.

As of mid-2005, no systematic humanitarian demining had been carried out in Liberia. In its initial Article 7 report, Liberia declared “not applicable” with respect to areas containing or suspected to contain antipersonnel mines, and mines destroyed in mined areas.^{[21 ]}

As part of its mandate to assist the disengagement and cantonment of military forces, UNMIL receives weapons and munitions from ex-combatants in the Disarmament, Demobilization, Reintegration and Rehabilitation process (DDRR), which started in December 2003.^{[22 ]} UNMIL also has among its peacekeeping forces six EOD teams, each composed of six people, positioned in five different sectors. Two teams are from the Pakistani engineering battalion, two from the Bangladeshi engineering battalion, and two units (one Irish and one Swedish) form a single quick response team in Monrovia. Their task is to locate and evaluate the UXO threat, and to dismantle or destroy isolated items of ordnance.^{[23 ]}

The UN reported that, from December 2003 to November 2004, when the disarmament and demobilization exercise formally closed, UNMIL had collected and destroyed 28,314 weapons, 33,604 pieces of heavy munitions and 6,486,136 rounds of small arms ammunition; there was no mention of landmines.^{[24 ]} As of June 2005, a further 286 weapons, 31,000 assorted pieces of ammunition and some 300 UXO had been collected and were being destroyed.^[25]

In 2004, UNICEF reported that the OMEGA storage and destruction site of the EOD teams in Monrovia, which was used to store most of the ordnance from government stockpiles found in police stations, was not fenced off, and therefore posed a potential danger to local populations and internally displaced persons in the area.^{[26 ]} UNMIL reports that since the DDRR process closed in November 2004, UXO are disposed of “on the spot” and no ordnance is stored there.^{[27 ]}

Landmine/UXO Casualties

In 2004, Landmine Monitor identified no new mine casualties. In 2003, two children were killed and three injured when an antivehicle mine found in a swamp exploded after the children tried to open it. However, in 2004, eight people, including one woman and one child, were injured in three UXO incidents in the first five months of the year.^[28]

One UNMIL Pakistani EOD officer was slightly injured in 2004 when disposing of a hand grenade.^[29]

There is no data collection mechanism for mine casualties in Liberia. Generally, no distinction is made between casualties of war, and landmine or UXO casualties. UXO appear to present a greater risk to civilians than landmines. At least 33 people were killed and 10 injured in reported mine/UXO incidents between 1993 and 2000.^[30] UNICEF is reportedly gathering data on casualties amongst ex-combatants.^[31]

Survivor Assistance and Disability Policy and Practice

Years of conflict have damaged the health infrastructure in Liberia, with many public health facilities forced to close due to the fighting, looting, and a lack of staff and supplies. Approximately 100 centers have re-opened with the support of international NGOs. However, there is no public health system and all medical facilities are privately run or run by churches. The costs are prohibitive for most Liberians. The Ministry of Health reportedly does not have the resources to support a sound public health policy. The World Health Organization (WHO), in partnership with local organizations, provides medical care to ex-combatants.^[32]

Until late June 2004, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) supported an expatriate surgical team at the JFK Memorial Hospital in Monrovia; after the withdrawal of the team, ICRC continues to provide medical and surgical supplies, food for patients, and staff incentives to the trauma and surgical department. In 2004, the hospital treated 889 war-wounded outpatients, 1,914 war-wounded inpatients, and performed 305 surgical interventions on war-related casualties. ICRC also supported the Stephen A. Tolbert Memorial Hospital in Buchanan in providing healthcare to residents and internally displaced persons (IDP) in Grand Bassa, and rehabilitated health facilities in Lofa County. ICRC phased out its support to Tubmanburg hospital in Bomi county at the end of 2004.^[33]

The UK-based NGO MERLIN supports Buchanan Hospital and health centers in Montserrado, Margibi, Grand Gedeh, Grand Bassa, Sinoe and Maryland counties. Activities include support to permanent and mobile clinics, rehabilitating hospitals, running temporary clinics in IDP camps, an ambulance service, supplying materials and training medical staff.^{[34 ]}

Handicap International (HI) runs a prosthetic workshop in the country, in Monrovia. HI provides technical training for orthopedic technicians and physiotherapists, and material support to the Monrovia Rehabilitation Center. In 2004, the center produced 144 orthopedic devices, such as prostheses, orthoses and shoes, 208 crutches, and 90 wheelchairs and tricycles. There is a lack of trained technicians and physiotherapists in Liberia, and materials to make artificial limbs must be imported. HI also supports a program for the socioeconomic reintegration of people with disabilities in Monrovia and Buchanan, in cooperation with local partners. The Lady of Fatima social center works with HI to accommodate people visiting the center for treatment from Buchanan. HI also visits the IDP camps at Gbanga to obtain information on people with disabilities in the camps.^[35]

The Organization of the Center of Rehabilitation of Injured and Disabled, a private clinic and center run by an orthopedic surgeon, performs stump revisions for amputees and other surgery, and produces prostheses using ICRC polypropylene technology in Congo Town, Monrovia. The DDRR program funds activities through WHO. The Spanish Catholic Sisters are also running a rehabilitation center for disabled children in Paynesville, Monrovia, but their capacity is very limited due to financial restraints.^[36]

There are limited programs for the socioeconomic reintegration of people with disabilities and, in general, disabled people have very little access to services and are often stigmatized as their disability is seen as a punishment. One organization working with and for persons with disabilities is the International Association of Disabled Women. However, Liberia has an active civil society, with local NGOs and churches working to improve the lives of the most vulnerable, including persons with disabilities, despite financial, logistical and capacity restraints.^[37]

The Ministry of Health and the Ministry of Social Affairs are officially responsible for issues relating to persons with disabilities; however there is no legal framework to protect the rights of disabled people.^[38] Local NGOs, including the Liberian Campaign Against Landmines and the Christian Association of the Blind, are lobbying the interim senate to implement disability legislation.^[39]

^[1] The date of submission listed by the UN is 20 October 2004, but the report itself is dated 30 April 2004. The report states it covers calendar year 2004.

^[2] Letter (SAAM/MOD-HM-UNDDA/154/’04) from Daniel L. Chea, Sr., Minister of National Defense, to MBC Article 7 Officer, UN Department of Disarmament Affairs (UN DDA), Geneva, 20 October 2004.

^{[3 ]}Letter from Daniel L. Chea, Sr., Minister of National Defense, to MBC Article 7 Officer, UN DDA, Geneva, 20 October 2004.

^{[4 ]}Letter from Lt. Col. Richard Y. Barnah, Chief Information Officer, Armed Forces of Liberia, Ministry of National Defense, 24 January 2004. Other military leaders, including some of whom were active in the country’s civil wars between 1989 and 2003, repeated this to Landmine Monitor in 2004 and 2005.

^{[5 ]}UNICEF, “Liberia Mines/UXO Situation Analysis Risk Assessment,” April/May 2004. This cites an interview by Eric Debert, MRE Consultant, with Daniel Chea, Minister of Defense, Gen. Konah and Gen. Varney on 25 April 2004.

^[6] Disarmament officially ended on 31 October 2004, but weapons continue to trickle in. National Commission on Disarmament, Demobilization, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (NCDDRR) Joint Implementation Unit, “DDRR Consolidated Report Phase 1, 2 & 3,” 16 January 2005.

^{[7 ]}For example, letter from Lt. Col. Richard Y. Barnah, Ministry of National Defense, 24 January 2004. See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, pp. 533-534.

^{[8 ]}UNICEF, “Liberia Mines/UXO Situation Analysis Risk Assessment,” April/May 2004.

^{[9 ]}Military Observer Group of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

^{[10 ]}See Landmine Monitor Report 2001, p. 88. Upon leaving Liberia, ECOMOG took all its records, including those on landmine laying and destruction, to its new operational headquarters in Freetown, Sierra Leone. Unsuccessful efforts have been made to obtain these records. UNICEF officially requested information on 12 May 2004.

^{[11 ]}Letter from Daniel L. Chea, Sr., Minister of National Defense, to MBC Article 7 Officer, UN DDA, Geneva, 20 October 2004.

^{[12 ]}See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 534.

^{[13 ]}UNICEF, “Liberia Mines/UXO Situation,” April/May 2004; see Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 534.

^{[14 ]}Email from Col. Claes Wolgast, UNMIL, 9 August 2005.

^{[15 ]}Interview with Paul Risley, Head of Media Relations, UNMIL, Monrovia, 17 May 2005.

^{[16 ]}See Landmine Monitor Report 1999, pp. 201-202.

^{[17 ]}See Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 535.

^[18] UNICEF, “Liberia Mines/UXO Situation,” April/May 2004.

^{[19 ]}These are probably mortar shells, as Liberians tend not to distinguish between aerially dropped munitions and land delivered ordnance.

^[20] “Two bombs disposed of by Nigerian and Russian EOD experts at Front Street,” Heritage Newspaper (Monrovia), 2 May 2005.

^{[21 ]}Article 7 Report, Form C, 20 October 2004.

^{[22 ]}UN Mission in Liberia, “Peace and Security, Disarmament process,” www.unmil.org, accessed 9 August 2005.

^{[23 ]}Email from Col. Claes Wolgast, UNMIL, 9 August 2005.

^{[24 ]}“Sixth progress report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Mission in Liberia,” S/2005/177, p. 5, New York, 17 March 2005. Col. Claes Wolgast, who worked in Liberia for UNMIL, informed Landmine Monitor that he knew of four antivehicle mines found during the DDRR exercise. Email to Landmine Monitor (HI), 15 September 2005.

^[25] “Seventh progress report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Mission in Liberia,” S/2005/391, p. 5, 16 June 2005.

^{[26 ]}UNICEF, “Liberia Mines/UXO Situation,” April/May 2004.

^{[27 ]}Email from Col. Claes Wolgast, UNMIL, 23 August 2005.

^[28] UNICEF, “Liberia Mines/UXO situation,” April/May 2004; for more information, see Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 536.

^[29] Email to Landmine Monitor (HI) from Col. Claes Wolgast, UNMIL, 23 August 2005.

^[30] For more information see Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 536.

^[31] HI, “Country Situation Analysis: Liberia,” Brussels, June 2005, p. 12.

^[32] HI, “Country Situation Analysis: Liberia,” Brussels, June 2005, pp. 4, 7, 9; see also Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 536.

^[33] ICRC, “Annual Report 2004,” Geneva, June 2005, p. 88.

^{[34 ]}UNICEF, “Liberia Mines/UXO situation,” April/May 2004; see also MERLIN website, www.merlin.org.uk

^[35] Landmine Monitor (HI) interview with Pierre Santacatterina, Desk Officer Africa, HI, Brussels, 12 September 2005; HI, “Country Strategy Paper,” Brussels, June 2005, p. 2; HI, “Country Situation Analysis: Liberia,” Brussels, June 2005, pp. 8, 13; see also Landmine Monitor Report 2004, p. 536.

^[36] Email to Landmine Monitor (HI) from Paivi Elina Laurila, Medical Coordinator, ICRC, Monrovia, 13 September 2005.

^[37] HI, “Mission Report 01-08 December 2004,” Brussels, December 2004, p. 11; HI, “Country Situation Analysis: Liberia,” Brussels, June 2005, pp. 4, 7, 9.

^[38] HI, “Country Situation Analysis: Liberia,” Brussels, June 2005, p. 9.

^[39] Landmine Monitor interview with Arthur Tamba, Chairperson, Liberian Campaign Against Landmines, Monrovia, 13 May 2005.