Executive Summary
The role of Liberia in destabilising
the West African sub-region caused the United Nations Security Council
to sanction it. Embargoes on natural resources were introduced, as were
travel-bans, arms-sanctions and restrictions on its shipping and aircraft
registries. In early 2003, its President, Charles Taylor, was indicted
for War Crimes and Crimes against Humanity in neighbouring Sierra Leone
and was forced into exile in August of the same year. This document records
events since the most recent introduction of sanctions in May 2003. It
illustrates that certain factors that caused Liberia and its neighbours
calamity, particularly Liberia's timber industry, the illicit arms trade
and Taylor's ability to destabilise the region, remain a threat. In the
light of these considerations, it concludes that lifting sanctions before
critical reforms in Liberia have taken effect could jeopardise the country's
recovery and further undermine the international community's efforts to
bring lasting peace to West Africa.
There remains widespread mercenary activity in Liberia, breaches of the UN arms embargo and other sanctions, and strong links between the timber industry and illegal activities, as well as the continued influence of former president Charles Taylor. But there has also been significant progress. In October 2003 a transitional government was established, in December 2003 the UN began deploying what will be its largest peacekeeping mission to date, and in February 2004 the international donor community pledged US$ 520 million toward the first two years of Liberia's reconstruction. These developments, with support from the peacekeeping missions in Sierra Leone and Côte d'Ivoire, are helping Liberia take advantage of what may be its best chance for peace and security in its recent history.
However, Liberia's peace-building and reconstruction processes are being threatened by continued outbreaks of violence among the warring parties, allegations of corruption in the National Transitional Government of Liberia (NTGL), failure to implement key governance reforms at all levels and a general lack of security. Arms and resource-industry networks remain operational within Liberia and are undermining both regional stability and Liberia's moves towards peace.
Unless otherwise noted, the information contained in this report results from extensive Global Witness investigative interviews and research trips conducted across four continents. The key findings are:
- There have been numerous violations
of the UN timber embargo. There is evidence that the Togba Timber Company
(TTCO) violated the Security Council's timber embargo on at least two occasions,
on 12 and 18 August 2003, exporting timber products from Harper port to
Dakar, Senegal. Global Witness contacted a TTCO representative in Monrovia
to ask for clarification of these shipments; however, the representative
was not prepared to comment. The UN Panel of Experts on Liberia has documented
two different shipments, one by TTCO that was exported to Dakar before
7 July 2003 but was offloaded on 23 July, and another by OTC that was exported
to Antwerp in May 2003, but was unable to clear customs prior to the 7
July embargo start date. See 5.1 Timber: Liberia's Logging Industry Activities
in 2003 and 2004, page 23.
- The logging industry in Liberia still
poses a threat to regional peace and security. The lack of control by the
NTGL or the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) control over resource-rich areas,
industry finances, or porous borders means that the trade in natural resources
remains an option for financing and arming non-state actors in Liberia
and the region. There is evidence to suggest that both the TTCO and Maryland
Wood Processing Industries (MWPI) have made arrangements with representatives
of the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL) to maintain their logging
interests in Liberia. Global Witness contacted a TTCO representative in
Monrovia, who was not prepared to comment. Recent reports also indicate
that MODEL may itself be looking to engage in logging activities in the
future. While logging itself does not violate the UN embargo, the inability
of the NTGL and its Forestry Development Authority (FDA) to ensure companies
have legal concession agreements and comply with all national laws means
that any such activities by MODEL or other groups and companies would be
in violation of Liberian law and provide reason to suspect that undocumented
income generated by such activities may be used to fuel further conflict.
See 5.1 Timber: Liberia's Logging Industry Activities in 2003 and 2004,
page 23.
- The former Government of Liberia (GOL)
violated the UN-imposed arms embargo numerous times in 2003. The last documented
delivery was on 7 August 2003, just three days before Taylor went into
exile in Nigeria, when a Boeing 707 aircraft, registered 9G-LAD (Ghana),
flew from Libya to Monrovia and delivered a large consignment weapons weighing
between 20-40 tonnes. The shipment, the second and final of that week,
was impounded at Robertsfield International Airport by ECOWAS Mission in
Liberia (ECOMIL) troops. Global Witness has obtained an invoice dated May
2003 that indicates another possible information on a different arms shipment,
with an invoice dated in May 2003, while other suspected arms shipments
were delivered to Buchanan port in March and Harper port on 6 April 2003.
See 5.3 Soldier: Arms and Security Threats, page 33.
- The NTGL has not met the security conditions
or implemented the institutional reforms required by UN Security Council
resolution 1521 (S/2003/1521) for the timber sanctions to be lifted. The
NTGL has not secured administrative control over Liberia's natural resource-rich
territory, nor has it devised or implemented the controls necessary to
ensure that logging industry revenue will be properly accounted for and
not contribute to extra-budgetary expenditures and further conflict. See
3. UN Security Council Requirements for Lifting Timber Sanctions: Have
They Been Met?, page 16.
- Former President Charles Taylor still
maintains significant political and economic links to Liberia. Through
his former colleagues and associates Taylor continues to receive support
from Liberia, in violation of the terms of his exile in Nigeria. Global
Witness has found evidence of his continued business interests in the region,
as well as numerous offshore bank accounts through which Taylor and his
associates may be moving money. The UN Security Council recently passed
Resolution 1532 (2004), declaring Taylor's continued connections with Liberia
a destabilising factor for regional peace, and moving to freeze both his
assets and those of close relatives and associates deemed to be helping
him. See 5.2 Taylor: Maintaining an Influence in Exile, page 27.
- The security situation in Liberia is
still perilous. While UNMIL troop numbers have reached 14,000, they have
not been fully deployed and do not maintain adequate control over the country's
interior and border regions. There have been persistent reports of abuses
of citizens by combatants, serious outbreaks of violence between Liberians
United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), MODEL and former GOL fighters,
and rioting by combatants even in areas where UNMIL troops have deployed.
Moreover, as UNMIL is currently unable to monitor border regions effectively,
there still exists the possibility for non-state actors to traffic weapons,
mercenaries and natural resources across national borders.
- Dilemmas facing the Disarmament, Demobilisation,
Rehabilitation and Reintegration (DDRR) process have contributed to increased
resentment and violence among combatants. When the DDRR was launched in
December 2003, a lack of UN preparedness and expectations of immediate
payment by the combatants resulted in rioting and looting that left at
least 12 people dead and led to the postponement of the process. On 15
April 2004, UNMIL restarted DDRR with two cantonment sites in a phased
approach that will eventually incorporate at least 10 demobilisation sites
and numerous community-based reintegration programmes. The initial resumption
of the DDRR process went smoothly, although not all of the four criteria
set by UNMIL for the restart of DDRR had been met (see Annex II. The Role
of the United Nations in Liberia, page 54).
- Tension between combatants and their political leadership in Monrovia has led fighters of both LURD and MODEL to riot, loot and take hostages in an effort to secure redress from their leaders. Many combatants have been frustrated by the postponement of DDRR and feel abandoned amid widespread allegations of corruption and lavish lifestyles for those in the NTGL. Major riots have occurred in Buchanan, Gbarnga, Zwedru and Tapeta, which are all areas where UNMIL has sizable troop deployments (see 7.1 Internal Conflict in LURD and MODEL, page 50).
Given the logging industry's continued links to regional destabilisation, the lack of NTGL authority over its natural resource-rich territories and inability to enforce domestic law, and former president Taylor's continued ability to destabilise the region, the Liberian timber embargo must remain in place. Global Witness further calls on all parties involved in the conflict to cooperate with the DDRR process, working to ensure the process runs smoothly and without the violence and insecurity that affected its launch in December 2003. Unless the DDRR and reform processes move forward, Liberia's internal security and reconstruction plans will suffer, the opportunities for renewed conflict will remain, and attempts to bring lasting regional peace will be left in jeopardy.
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