United Nations Mission In Liberia Research Articles

Building feminist peace: gender, legal reforms and social reproduction after the United Nations Mission in Liberia

This article explores efforts to attain feminist peace in Liberia by critically examining the implementation of gender-sensitive provisions in two national reforms that seek to transform the country after war: the Land Rights Act 2018 and the Local Government Act 2018. Drawing from extensive fieldwork, it argues that these reforms are sites of struggle between the goal of national transformation towards feminist peace and the reproduction of existing socio-political cleavages, with a particular focus on (certain) women’s political, socio-economic and gender oppression. The article also demonstrates how despite implementation failures and lack of consultation, these legal reforms open new (in)formal spaces for building feminist peace. Attending to the ways in which women resist and mobilise in these newly (in)formal spaces, the article brings to light the peace work these women are doing for transforming post-war gender regimes that prevent women’s representation and a more equitable redistribution of power and resources.

International Society and the United Nations Peacebuilding

Since its first peacekeeping operation, the United Nations (UN) broadened its normative framework to provide efficient responses to the turbulent reality of countries experiencing intrastate wars. Back in the 1990s, the UN acknowledged that intrastate conflict causes are structural and socially rooted, and therefore achieving peace in collapsing states would only be possible through the strategy labelled as peacebuilding, aimed at achieving longstanding peace through the reconstruction of the state in the post-conflict phase. Based on English School theorists, this paper aims to analyze how the UN peacebuilding policies can be associated with the strengthening of the commitment of war-torn states to institutions and rules that underpins the group of states known as “international society”. To illustrate the aforementioned argument, this work consists of a case study methodology that assess the United Nations Mission in Liberia (2003-2018).

Land in Liberia: The Initial Source of Antagonism Between Freed American Blacks and Indigenous Tribal People Remains the Cause of Intense Disputes

This study examines factors of land grabbing in Liberia, especially from tribal communities, due originally to different social expectations regarding land and contracts between indigenous people and settlers from America. In addition, land appropriation throughout the history of the Liberian nation is due largely to the Americo-Liberian oligarchy and public corruption. The study analyzes survey, empirical, and concession contracts data gathered by the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Sustainable Development Institute, Government of Liberia, Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia, and United Nations Mission in Liberia. It then correlates associations between a number of concession companies, their land acreage under operation, county acreage, and incidence of land grabbing to demonstrate an increase in disputes during the early 2000s due to practices of corrupt public officials. This has resulted from the consistent implementation of inequitable land laws, which have perpetuated land transfer from tribal communities to mostly Americo-Liberian descendants and foreign concessionaires. This land appropriation has fostered public corruption, increased land related disputes, and raised the level of conflict in Liberian society.

Building peace through the nexus between security, democracy and development: a critical assessment of the United Nations mission in Liberia

The United Nations (UN) peacebuilding strategy often establish a nexus between security, democracy and development. Therefore, it argues that sustainable peace could be achieved whenever institutional reforms towards democratization and economic development takes place. Thus, we intend to identify whether the strengthening of state institutions in the aforementioned sectors contributes to tackling the root causes of intrastate warfare. Methodologically, this paper consists of a case study of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (2003-2018). To evaluate the effectiveness of the peacebuilding policies deployed in Liberia, we have gathered empirical data to identify advantages and flaws in the UN approach. Our findings evidence that although policies regarding the nexus between security, democracy and development have addressed some crucial post-conflict issues, reforms in these areas were inadequate to fragment local elites, to avoid uneven economic development and to ensure horizontal welfare for Liberians.

Long-lasting Peace in Liberia?

In 2018, the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres released his report measuring progress on the implementation of sustaining peace, outlining four areas with a focus on: effective leadership; operational and policy coherence; partnerships; and financing for peacebuilding. This article examines the implementation of the recommendations made by Guterres on peacebuilding and sustaining peace in Liberia. With the departure of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) and the political transition from former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to current President George Weah, Liberia is seen as a test case for the implementation of the Secretary-General’s recommendations.

The Legacy of Peacekeeping on the Liberian Security Sector

On December 23, 2016, the United Nations Security Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) for a final period until March 30, 2018. This resolution marked the e...

The participation of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the peacekeeping operations

The main historical and contemporary participation of the Armed Forces of Ukraine in peacekeeping operations are described. The key notions of peacekeeping are defined showing this definition as the main rational tool for preventing and resolving disputes, threats, conflicts at the national, regional and global levels is the modern peacekeeping system. The main laws of Ukraine concerning peacekeeping operations are characterized with defining objectives for these operations.The attention is focused on the Ukraine’s participation in different international peacekeeping operations including 26 operations which ended and 8 ongoing operations. An important aspect of Ukraine’s participation in peacekeeping on the African continent is its coordinated actions with the United Nations on the diplomatic settlement of conflicts and the adherence to official statements regarding them.Peacekeeping missions are currently operating in Liberia, Congo, Sierra Leone, Sudan (Darfur and Juba) and other African countries. In particular, these are peacekeeping missions such as: the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), the UN Mission in Côte d’Ivoire (ONUCI), the African Union – United Nations Operation in Darfur (UNAUMID), the UN peacekeeping operation in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (MONUSCO), demilitarization and peacekeeping in the disputed area of Abyei (UNISFA), the UN Mission in the Republic of Southern Sudan (UNMISS), UN Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization Mission in Mali (MINUSCA).Ukrainian peacekeeping potential is analysed. Participation of the armed forces of Ukraine in peacekeeping operations of the United Nations is one of the priority foreign policy tasks of our state, successful implementation of which positively influences strengthening of the national authority of Ukraine, promotes development of cooperation with Euro-Atlantic and regional security structures and has an exceptional significance for the national interests of our country. Ukraine claims to be a full-fledged subject of international relations, increases its credibility and demonstrates a peaceful policy.

Promoting Political Participation in War-torn Countries

This article uses original survey data to study the effects of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) on the political attitudes and behaviors of ordinary Liberians. Three results emerge: (i) UNMIL has positive, statistically significant effects on political participation measured over multiple outcome indicators; (ii) UNMIL’s effects display heterogeneity across individual outcome indicators, most positive effects are concentrated around measures associated with participation in national politics as well as political interest and efficacy, while the effects on participation in local politics are mixed; and (iii) self-reported measures of citizens’ interactions with UNMIL military personnel and exposure to democracy and to human rights campaigns carried out by international actors have strong positive associations with political participation, suggesting that results are driven by security and nonsecurity mechanisms. This article discusses the implications of these findings and areas for future research.

Glimpse of Medical Support and Healthcare in Peacekeeping Mission: Experience from United Nations Mission in Liberia

Nepal has been actively participating in different United Nations (UN) peacekeeping missions for  a long time. Medical care in peacekeeping and humanitarian mission consists of different approach than what is seen in regular clinical and hospital setting. This article shares some of the healthcare aspects and medical activities carried out during deployment of Nepalese peacekeepers to such UN mission.

Public health emergencies: a new peacekeeping mission? Insights from UNMIL’s role in the Liberia Ebola outbreak

The UN Security Council meeting on 18 September 2014 represented a major turning-point in the international response to the Ebola outbreak then underway in West Africa. However, in the light of widespread criticism over the tardiness of the international response, it can be argued that the UN, and particularly the Security Council, failed to make best use of a potential resource it already had on the ground in Liberia: the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). This article examines whether UNMIL could have done more to contribute to the emergency response and attempts to draw some lessons from this experience for potential peacekeeper involvement in future public health emergencies. UNMIL could have done more than it did within the terms of its mandate, although it may well have been hampered by factors such as its own capacities, the views of Troop Contributing Countries and the approach taken by the Liberian government. This case can inform broader discussions over the provision of medical and other forms of humanitarian assistance by peacekeeping missions, such as the danger of politicising humanitarian aid and peacekeepers doing more harm than good. Finally, we warn that a reliance on peacekeepers to deliver health services during ‘normal’ times could foster a dangerous culture of dependency, hampering emergency responses if the need arises.

Chinese Peace? An Emergent Norm in African Peace Operations

The steady rise in Chinese participation in peace operations in Africa is a significant development in the post-Cold War collective security architecture. An aspect of China's rise and its challenge to the liberal global order is its contribution to post-conflict peacekeeping, peacebuilding, and peace-making in Africa, areas that have been dominated by the West. The purpose of this article is to bring together literatures that do not usually speak to one another: Chinese discourses on peacebuilding and the debate on the liberal peace in Africa. The subject of this article is the emerging "Chinese peace" discourse. By examining the "Chinese peace" — both its normative content and its on-the-ground participation in a comprehensive liberal peace project — as a part of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) — this article begins to highlight differences, identify tensions, and recognize complementarities between the dominant liberal and the emergent Chinese approach to peacebuilding.

Exceeding Limitations of the United Nations Peacekeeping Bureaucracy: Strategies of Officials to Influence Peacekeeping Activities within the United Nations Mission in Liberia and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations

United Nations peacekeeping is implemented by a complex bureaucratic organization, which itself can be a source of dysfunction and failure. This article empirically explores the strategies officials within the United Nations Mission in Liberia and the Department of Peacekeeping Operations apply in order to continue to do their job as effectively as possible despite the limitations of the UN peacekeeping bureaucracy. The findings demonstrate that internal acknowledgement and relevance of work are core strategic goals of UN officials. However, as the actual practices of achieving these objectives vary at different levels and locations of the UN peacekeeping bureaucracy, these strategies contribute to a significant diversity of local and decentralized decision-making frameworks rather than a rationalized effective bureaucracy.

MALARIA TREATMENT VS. MALARIA PROPHYLAXIS : A COST COMPARISON.

Aim This research aims to evaluate the cost of using drugs to combat an established infection as compared with drugs used for prophylactic purposes. And this aim was achieved by using the following objective which was: (i) To estimate the cost of using anti-malarial drugs as treatment compared to using them as prophylaxis. Methods The study used 142 subjects (n=142) who had travelled to Liberia for six months to work among the Jordanian Level III Hospital within the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL). This is a malarious area, so the participants have to take prophylactic medicine, or they will be at risk of acquiring malaria. The prophylactic medicines that have been taken by the participants cost the RMS a particular value (Cost 1), In contrast those who acquired malaria will need treatment and hospitalization and this will incur on the RMS another different set of costs (Cost 2). A questionnaire was distributed among the participants to collect the data needed. In addition, data was collected from the records of the financial offices in the hospitals of Royal Medical Services (RMS) where the malarious patients were treated. Results From the 142 participants, 52.1% used Mefloquine for prophylaxis in comparison with Doxycycline which was used by 29.6% of them, and the rest, 18.3%, used more than one prophylactic method. One case of malaria infection occurred during the study period and it was diagnosed as Severe Falciparum Malaria (SFM). The patient answered that he didn’t use any prophylactic medication, Cost 1 and Cost 2 evaluated and found to be £10189.00 and £1220.00 respectively. Conclusion The study showed much less cost when using these drugs for prophylaxis by 94% per capita comparing with the cost of treating one case of Severe Falciparum Malaria (SFM). Key words Malaria, Imported, Prophylaxis, Antimalarials, Costs.

Bridging the ‘Conceptual–Contextual’ Divide: Security Sector Reform in Liberia and UNMIL Transition

This article discusses the tensions in security sector reform that stem from a conceptual–contextual divide in statebuilding practice. It uses the case of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) drawdown to understand how tensions between international policy and local practice manifest and impact on reform of internal security capacity in real time. The theme of hybridity links the analytical framework with the reality of SSR performance and explains the fallacies of liberal-institutionalist reform choices. Research findings offer important lessons that point towards the need for developing local institutions and capacities in place of externally driven social engineering projects that enhance dependency. This focus on empowering the local complements, and is commensurate with, the ultimate goal of SSR, namely, the reconstruction of legitimate and people-centred security institutions.

Recurring Dilemmas in a Recurring Conflict: Evaluating the UN Mission in Liberia (2003–2006)

This article applies Diehl & Druckman’s peace operation evaluation framework to the activities of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) during the Liberian transitional peace process (2003-2006). It finds that in general UNMIL performed strongly during the transitional period, particularly in relation to the core mission goals of violence abatement, conflict containment, conflict settlement and organizational effectiveness. UNMIL’s achievements were less clear and less pronounced in relation to the more complex areas of non-traditional and peacebuilding mission goals. The article also provides critical reflections on the framework for evaluating peace operations, arguing that it is difficult to escape the politics that influence the activities of peacekeeping and peacebuilding.

Strategic Approaches to Reintegration: Lessons Learned from Liberia

SIX YEARS AFTER THE END OF THE LIBERIAN CONFLICT, EX-COMBATANTS are no longer considered a serious threat to peace and stability in Liberia. Systematic surveys conducted by the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) show that there is no national network of ex-combatants, although local groups of ex-combatants still exist in some locations. From a security perspective, the reintegration of ex-combatants has been largely successful in Liberia. This good news is not a coincidence; it is due to six years of sustained effort to reestablish rule of law throughout the country, to rebuild institutions, to promote early recovery, and to reintegrate the former fighting forces as well as other war-affected populations. The government, with support from the United Nations, many bilateral and multilateral partners, and national and international nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), has worked diligently to achieve this. This, however, does not mean that all problems related to reintegration are completely resolved. First, there are some persistent localized networks of ex-combatants. These networks often continue to exist for economic reasons as ex-combatant groups engage in a variety of legal and illegal activities. The involvement of these groups in illegal economic activities and other criminal behavior is a particular concern, which UNMIL is addressing jointly with the government, UN agencies, and various international partners. The second challenge is unemployment, or, more broadly, the lack of livelihood opportunities for ex-combatants as well as for the general population. Ex-combatants have received training, counseling, and career advice, but livelihood opportunities are scarce in a postwar economy, with a very precarious employment situation (85 percent do not earn enough to lift themselves and their families over the one-dollar-a-day poverty line, according to a 2009 International Labour Organization [ILO] study (1)). Faced with a lack of livelihood opportunities, ex-combatants and other high-risk youths sometimes resort to illegal means of income generation, contributing to insecurity and hampering their community reintegration. When a 2008 US Institute for Peace study asked Liberian ex-combatants if they would fight again, two-thirds responded with a categorical no. The remaining one-third cited poverty and lack of economic opportunity as the main reasons that could make them go back to war. Interestingly, women ex-combatants appeared more ready to fight again for economic reasons than men. Unemployment and lack of livelihood opportunities are therefore considered serious security concerns. Since 2003, an array of efforts have been undertaken to reintegrate ex-combatants in Liberia, from classic disarmament, demobilization, rehabilitation, and reintegration (DDRR) to strategic monitoring and community-based interventions that aim at promoting alternative livelihoods. This article is considering what those efforts have achieved and what was not achievable, explain why it is time to end targeted assistance to ex-combatants in Liberia, and propose the next steps to be taken. The DDRR Program in Liberia, 2003-2009 An important milestone in UNMIL's mandate occurred on 21 July 2009: the completion of the reintegration component of the official DDRR program, nearly six years after it began. Following a faltering start in December 2003, the disarmament and demobilization component resumed on 15 April 2004, and when it ended on 4 November 2004, over 101,000 persons had been disarmed and demobilized. This number greatly exceeded the initial estimates of 35,000-38,000 ex-combatants, a projection based on the ascribed strength of the warring factions. The jump in the number of DDRR beneficiaries was partly due to a lowering of entrance criteria, namely the amount of weapons to be handed over in order to be eligible for demobilization and reintegration assistance. The relaxing of entrance criteria boosted the number of DDRR beneficiaries, posing a challenge to the planning and implementation of the program. …

Moving beyond Sanctions: Evolving Integrated Strategies to Address Post-Conflict Natural Resource-Based Challenges in Liberia

Liberia is emerging from 14 years of war where it served as the epicentre in West Africa of conflict fuelled by disputes over natural resources. Almost three years after the signing of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement there remain resource-rich, poorly managed areas where ex-combatants wield considerable power due to lack of law-and-order capacity and alternative livelihood opportunities. Gaining government control of such areas and prohibiting the use of timber and diamonds to fuel conflict are central to the lifting of sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council in May 2003. This article examines the efforts of the Liberian government, the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) and other international partners to evacuate Sapo National Park as a case study for establishing control of natural resources – an important post-conflict challenge that can undermine the building of peace. Critical components of what worked are examined in an effort to design and implement an integrated strategy, as are ongoing operational, coordination and other challenges. The case study illustrates the complexity of issues raised by, and the need to move beyond, sanctions for peace to be sustainable in resource-rich countries emerging from war.