HUMAN RIGHTS MUST BE PARAMOUNT IN POLICING, UN ENVOY SAYS IN LIBERIA

Respect for human rights must be central to police work, a senior United Nations official in Liberia has told the new members of an elite unit within the West African country's police force as she warned them never to misuse their strength and power.

Eighty officers from the Liberia National Police (LNP) have completed a three-month intensive training programme to join the force's Emergency Response Unit (ERU), joining just over 200 others who have finished their training since courses began in mid-2008. They are tasked with responding to crisis and high-risk situations.

Henrietta Mensa-Bonsu, the Secretary-General's Deputy Special Representative for the Rule of Law in Liberia, told a graduation ceremony in Monrovia, the capital, for the 80 officers that they have "inherited the hopes and dreams of all Liberians who seek to live" in safety and security.

"The measure of your strength
and power is not how frequently you remind people of them, but how well you control your use of that power," Ms. Mensa-Bonsu said, according to a press release issued today by the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).

"Even when tested under the most trying of circumstances, you must adhere to the principle of proportionality in the use of force; sound judgement, restraint and respect are characteristics of a professional police officer," she stressed.

In her remarks Ms. Mensa-Bonsu promised that UNMIL would continue to assist the Liberian Government in training, reforming and restructuring the LNP. She also welcomed the support for the United States and Irish Governments for the ERU training programme.

UN EXPERTS TACKLE ‘CONSPIRACY OF SILENCE’ OVER SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN WARTIME

Women's rights activists, senior military figures and top United Nations officials met in New York this week to discuss what the world body's former humanitarian chief Jan Egeland described as "one of the biggest conspiracies of silence in history" – the use of sexual violence as a weapon of war.

The talks focused particularly on the lack of female involvement in peace negotiations, and on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1820, passed last year, which for the first time acknowledged the use of sexual violence in conflict as a deliberate tactic of war.

According to the UN's agency for women, UNIFEM, women comprise on average less than 10 per cent of peace negotiators and less than 2 per cent of mediators. Out of approximately 300 peace agreements reached in 45 conflicts since the end of the Cold War, only 10 peace processes even mentioned sexual violence.

Anne-Marie Goetz of UNIFEM told a news conference that among the key principles endorsed by participants in this week's talks were that sexual violence should be addressed right from the start of the mediation process, and that crimes of sexual violence should be given the same priority as other international crimes.

"This kind of meeting backs up the quest for justice," said Leymah Gbowee of the organization Women, Peace and Security Africa, who participated in the talks. "It emboldens mediators and gains greater respect for women's groups, which the parties to peace talks can often ignore." She added that resolution 1820 "changed the dynamic at the peace table and legitimized the status of women."

Ms. Gbowee said the opportunity to brief the Security Council on the results of the conference would serve to create awareness of sexual violence as a weapon of war among Member States, who she said might be inclined to see rape during wartime as a social or a humanitarian problem rather than a military issue.

She added that the presence of senior military officers, including Major-General Patrick Cammaert, a former commander with the UN peacekeeping mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo, was particularly effective in raising awareness that sexual violence was often used as a deliberate and systematic military strategy.

Ms. Gbowee spoke forcefully of the barriers to women's participation in mediation processes, including the fear that addressing sexual violence would prevent the smooth running of peace talks, since the negotiating parties might be seriously implicated.

Recalling her own role in leading the women's peace movement that helped bring Liberia's stalled peace process to a successful conclusion in 2003, she added: "I am proud

of the role women played… but one of my greatest regrets is that we did not use this opportunity to raise our own issues and demand prosecution for perpetrators of sexual violence."
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UN ENVOY TO LIBERIA HONOURS MONGOLIAN PEACEKEEPERS IN SIERRA LEONE

UN ENVOY TO LIBERIA HONOURS MONGOLIAN PEACEKEEPERS IN SIERRA LEONE
New York, Jun 8 2009 12:00PM
The top United Nations envoy to Liberia today paid tribute to the Mongolian blue helmets, tasked with protecting the UN-backed Special Court for Sierra Leone (SCSL), for their efforts to promote peacebuilding in West Africa.

"Mongolian peacekeepers have acquired a reputation for bringing exceptional discipline to peacekeeping operations, an international outlook and an ever-ready approach to their tasks, regardless of the environment they find themselves in," said Ellen Margrethe Løj, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the UN Mission in Liberia (<"http://unmil.org/">UNMIL).

Speaking at a medal ceremony last week in honour of the 250 members of the Mongolian Guard Force under UNMIL's command, she also expressed gratitude to the 10 women peacekeepers assigned to the Force for their dedication in providing vital services in communications and as doctors and nurses.

The event came on the heels of the International Day of Peacekeepers on 29 May, which this year stressed the unique role played by women in peacekeeping.

The Mongolian Force provides security for the premises of the Special Court, protects the detainees when they are moved outside the Court's compound, and is responsible for evacuating officials and detainees in cooperation with the UNMIL's Quick Reaction Force (QRF).

The SCSL, established in January 2002 in an agreement between the country's Government and the UN, is mandated to try those bearing the greatest responsibility for crimes against humanity and violations of international humanitarian law in its civil-war since 1996, the 11 year-conflict began in 1991.
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COOPERATION WITH AFRICAN UNION CRUCIAL TO PROMOTING PEACE – SECURITY COUNCIL

COOPERATION WITH AFRICAN UNION CRUCIAL TO PROMOTING PEACE – SECURITY COUNCIL
New York, May 28 2009 8:00PM
Enhanced collaboration with the African Union (AU) will help to promote peace and security in Africa, members of the Security Council delegation, which recently wrapped up a week-long visit to the continent, said today.

The Council mission held talks – a follow-up to two previous gatherings in 2007 and 2008 – with their AU counterpart in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, on 16 May, agreeing "to pursue their consultations on ways and means to strengthen their cooperation and partnership," according to a communiqué issued after the talks.

Ambassador Ruhakana Rugunda of Uganda told the 15-member body today that "meetings between the two bodies are useful in strengthening cooperation, particularly in the prevention and resolution of conflicts, peacekeeping and peacebuilding, including the promotion of human rights, democracy, and rule of law and constitutional order in Africa."

Also highlighting the virtues of UN-AU collaboration was Ambassador John Sawers of the United Kingdom, who was the joint leader of the mission to the Great Lakes region in connection with Rwanda.

He said the Council's meeting at the with the AU's Peace and Security Council "demonstrated the depth of the relationship and the ways in which it's becoming more substantive," noting such areas of cooperation such as Somalia and Sudan's war-torn Darfur region, where the hybrid UN-AU peacekeeping mission, known as <"http://www.un.org/Depts/dpko/missions/unamid/">UNAMID, is in place.

Regarding the mission's Rwanda leg, Mr. Sawers said that it was "invaluable" for the Council to see first-hand the situations in the region that it is dealing with, such as the rapprochement between the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Rwanda, who joined forces to root out the mainly Hutu Democratic Forces for the Liberation of Rwanda (FDLR) from the DRC's east.

For his part, Ambassador Jean-Maurice Ripert of France, who led the mission in the Great Lakes in connection with the DRC, highlighted the serious issue of sexual violence, "which is far too wide-spread."

He said that the Council delegation was "able to see this with horror" when the visited a hospital in the capital, Kinshasa. The Government has taken measures, including creating a fund to promote the protection of children, he added.

The DRC has "already started combating impunity and this must remain a priority, which we re-affirmed to the government," Mr. Ripert noted. "Armed groups, the FARDC [Congolese armed forces], must stop all their abuses against the population, in particular, rapes."

United States Ambassador Susan Rice, who led the last leg of the Council's Africa trip, told the Council that the purpose of the delegation's visit to Liberia was to "help re-affirm the Security Council's support for the Government and people of Liberia and for UNMIL's [the UN Mission in Liberia] efforts to promote peace and security."

She paid tribute to the "inspiring" all-women Indian formed police unit (FPU) – comprising police officers who have received specialized training in high-risk operations and managing crowds – serving with <"http://unmil.org/">UNMIL. They have "helped to motivate more Liberian women to apply for more law enforcement jobs," she said.

Last June, a similar Security Council mission visited Djibouti, Sudan, Chad, DRC and Côte d'Ivoire.
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LIBERIA: MULTI-AGENCY UN PROJECT TO BOOST LOCAL GOVERNMENT

LIBERIA: MULTI-AGENCY UN PROJECT TO BOOST LOCAL GOVERNMENT
New York, Mar 23 2009 4:00PM
The signing of a six-agency project in Liberia is a major step toward restoring civil administration in the West African country, which is recovering from a devastating 14-year conflict, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) said today.

Local capabilities to be upgraded through the project include statistics gathering and analysis, information management, monitoring and evaluation, rehabilitation and construction of public buildings and service delivery, according to a UNDP release.

UNDP, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS), the UN Human Settlements Programme (UN-HABITAT) and the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) have all signed onto the two-year programme.

Speaking at the signing ceremony held in the country's capital, Monrovia, UN Resident Coordinator Jordan Ryan said that the project "provides a coherent and coordinated platform for UN agencies to join up their efforts and work together with the Government in the development process," according to UNDP.
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LACK OF FUNDS FORCES UN TO GROUND WEST AFRICA HUMANITARIAN AIR SERVICE

LACK OF FUNDS FORCES UN TO GROUND WEST AFRICA HUMANITARIAN AIR SERVICE
New York, Mar 17 2009 4:00PM

The United Nations said it is shutting down its Humanitarian Air Service in West Africa due to a serious lack of funding, seriously impairing aid operations in Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire.

The UN Humanitarian Air Service (UNHAS) flies aid workers from the UN and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), as well as journalists and others, to some of the hardest-to-reach emergency operations around the world.

Run by the World Food Programme (WFP), UNHAS plays a vital role in areas in accessing remote locations and in cases where insecurity prevents travel by road.

WFP's Emilia Casella told reporters in Geneva that UNHAS will ground its West Africa coastal air service for good on 20 March. This follows the temporary suspension of its service in Niger on 28 February, also due to lack of funds.

About 30 NGOs working in the West African coastal area have pleaded with WFP not to close the Service, saying that they would be shut down or unable to perform their operations without this essential partner. However, it looked as if the Service will have to shut down this week.

Ms. Casella noted that UNHAS Chad is also significantly under-funded, with a shortfall of 92 per cent of its $11.4 million budget. This is particularly worrying the Service is expected to carry about 43,000 humanitarian workers over the course of 2009 in Chad.

For the Central African Republic, the shortfall is 83 per cent and there is no confirmed funding for that country beyond the end of this month. In addition, Ethiopia only has enough funding until the end of April.

This means that aid agencies will not be able to get to the people who need help, and that the UN will not be in a position to do urgent medical and security evacuations in a timely manner in some of these areas, noted Ms. Casella.

In 2008, UNHAS carried more than 360,000 humanitarian passengers and 15,000 metric tons of humanitarian cargo in 16 countries, on 58 chartered aircrafts.
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LIBERIA LAUNCHES UN-BACKED NATIONAL ACTION PLAN ON WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY

LIBERIA LAUNCHES UN-BACKED NATIONAL ACTION PLAN ON WOMEN, PEACE AND SECURITY
New York, Mar 8 2009 10:00AM

The Government of Liberia today launched a United Nations-backed national action plan aimed at furthering gender equality, sustainable peace and security in the only African nation with a democratically elected female head of State.

The plan was launched as part of the International Colloquium on Women's Empowerment, Leadership Development, International Peace and Security, which is taking place in Monrovia from 7 to 10 March and co-convened by Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and the President of Finland, Tarja Halonen.

Nearly 20 current and former heads of government and some 50 UN representatives will be participating in this week's Colloquium, which seeks to empower women to be more effective leaders by linking with their peers from around the world and sharing best practices on a range of issues.

The action plan draws on UN Security Council resolution 1325 whic
h stresses the importance of giving women equal participation and full involvement in peace and security matters and the need to increase their role in decision-making.

It also incorporates components of UN Security Council resolution 1820 on sexual violence against civilians in times of conflict, which addresses previously-neglected areas such as equal protection under the law for survivors of sexual violence and punishment for perpetrators.

The process of drafting the plan -- developed by the Ministry of Gender with the help of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) and the UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women (INSTRAW) -- began last August and included representatives of various governmental institutions, UN agencies and civil society organizations.

"A planning process that brings together all relevant stakeholders, and that takes into account the real needs of the local population, will be more sustainable over the long term because people w
ill see themselves reflected in the text of the resulting plan," stated INSTRAW Acting Director Carolina Taborga.

"A plan that is not inclusive will have no ownership, and essential accountability and monitoring components may be left out," she added.

The plan's launch coincides with International Women's Day, observed annually around the world on 8 March.
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Women in the Crossfire - ICRC Calls for Better Health Care for Women in Conflict Zones

Women in the crossfire - ICRC calls for better health care for women in conflict zones

In areas ravaged by conflict, the health needs of women are often neglected and ignored. As the bombs fall, the damage to infrastructure and communications affects the whole community but women are particularly at risk. They are often prevented from reaching a health facility to give birth safely, or to care for their sick children. In some conflict-torn areas they suffer sexual violence, including rape. And while the war-wounded and emergency cases get priority, women's needs, and in particular the needs of pregnant mothers and their children, are often given scant attention.

In the recent conflict in Gaza the lives of women and their young children in desperate need of health care were put at risk. Ambulances were unable to operate freely. Women in labour could not reach a safe place to have their babies – one woman gave birth in a donkey cart trying to reach hospital, delayed by the fighting.

In Somalia, over a decade of conflict has devastated health services and death rates among pregnant women are among the highest in the world (WHO statistics). Conflict adds to the suffering when women cannot access the scant services that do exist.

In the aftermath of war, the destruction of health services often prevents women returning to their homes and villages. The need to provide reproductive health care is particularly urgent. Without it, families cannot return to normality and start rebuilding their lives.

International Humanitarian Law requires that expectant mothers be the object of particular protection and respect. Nadine Puechguirbal, ICRC's Women and War adviser, stresses that during conflict, "International humanitarian law must be implemented …women must get access to a proper health care system and humanitarian workers must be allowed to do their jobs."

On International Women's Day, the ICRC demands more respect for international humanitarian law, and calls for a greater focus on the predicament of women who, because of war and its aftermath, do not receive basic health care for themselves and their babies.

SOMALIA - story

Few women in Somalia's war zone are as fortunate as Halima who managed to reach Mogadishu’s KeysaneyHospital in time for an emergency caesarean section which saved her life and that of her baby.

By the time she was operated on, she had been in labour for 24 hours. She and her husband had spent four hours in transit trying to find a hospital to take her because fighting made it impossible to reach the city’s maternity facility.

The trauma specialists in KeysaneyHospital have received training in war surgery from the ICRC. They are more familiar with war wounds than delivering babies. But the chaotic and dangerous conditions in Mogadishu mean they must take on all those who manage to survive the journey there.

When Halima arrived at the hospital, the surgeons were preparing to operate on a young man with a gun shot wound. He had to wait his turn while her baby was delivered. Halima's condition was critical but both mother and son survived.

In war zones pregnant women and their children have few resources and are at high risk. Survival is often a matter of chance. As the conflict drags on in Somalia, the situation for women is, if anything, worsening.

Additional information:

• The number of Somali women dying in childbirth is estimated at 1400 per 100,000. It is one of 14 countries in the world with a maternal mortality rate of more than a thousand. By contrast Ireland has a maternal mortality rate of 1 per 100,000 (Unicef,2009).
• Only 9 in a hundred thousand women make it to a hospital to give birth and only 33 in a hundred thousand have a person with any birthing skills present for their deliveries (Unicef, 2009.)
• Keysaney and MedinaHospitals have treated more than 2,500 war casualties since January 2008.
• The ICRC has been providing humanitarian assistance to the Somali population since 1977 working in close partnership with the Somali Red Crescent Society.

LIBERIA - story

In Liberia, a peace agreement was signed in 2003 and rebuilding is underway. But 14 years of conflict has left the country with a looted and destroyed health system.

The ICRC helped treat the wounded during the war and in the aftermath supports a broad programme to restore basic health services in areas of the country worst affected by the conflict. Part of that strategy is the reduction of the maternal mortality rate - estimated at 1200 in a hundred thousand (2005, latest UN statistics).

In a joint initiative with the Liberian Ministry of Health, the ICRC is training traditional birth attendants to achieve clean, safe deliveries and to refer women with problems to hospital quickly.

Eunice Ekenko, an ICRC health worker in Liberia confirms the need for this assistance, "we don’t have enough skilled staff which is because of the war. After the war most of the skilled staff fled away."

Beneta Kessely is a midwife trainer for the ICRC. She explains the role of the traditional birth attendants who come from and work with their own local communities: "Because they are already doing the work, we just need to improve their skills so they can do even better. And they have proved to be that way."

Before this programme, many traditional birth attendants had no formal training. With emphasis on the need for prompt referral to a health facility in the event of any problem, the women learn how to give immediate care to the mother and her newborn as well as the importance of nutrition, vaccination, malaria prophylaxis, family planning and hygiene.

It will take time to measure the full impact of the training, but the traditional birth attendants themselves believe it is helping the women in their communities. Sonnie Lombeh has completed the course and has taken her new-found skills back to her village: " I am already happy for the training that they have given us. Those things that we did not know, now I know them, I am happy."

Additional information:

• The number of Liberian women dying in childbirth is estimated at 1,200 per one hundred thousand – one of the worst maternal mortality rates in the world (UN statistics).
• An estimated 37 women in a hundred thousand give birth in a hospital and only 51 in a hundred thousand have a skilled attendant present for delivery (UN statistics).
• By September 2008, the ICRC in partnership with the Liberian Health Ministry had successfully trained almost 300 traditional midwives. During their six month training course the midwives develop their skills in antenatal care, deliveries, post partum and new-born care.
• The ICRC has been active in Liberia since the onset of the first war in 1990 – providing emergency care and now in the reconstruction phase, assisting with the reconstruction of facilities and the training of staff.

‘IDEAL VILLAGE’ LATEST PROJECT BY UN PEACEKEEPERS TO BOOST LIBERIA’S FOOD SECURITY

'IDEAL VILLAGE' LATEST PROJECT BY UN PEACEKEEPERS TO BOOST LIBERIA'S FOOD SECURITY
New York, Feb 26 2009 10:00AM

A new 150-acre agricultural village, complete with poultry, a fish pond and school and community-based farms, is the latest initiative by Bangladeshi peacekeepers serving with the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) to boost food security, a crucial component to lasting peace in the West African nation.

Inaugurating the "Bangla-Bong Ideal Village," UNMIL's Force Commander noted that the country has very fertile soil, excellent land-to-people ratio and wonderful weather, and urged Liberians, especially young people, to use their resources to develop their country.

"If you harness all the great opportunities your fertile land offers, I'm certain that you will one day stand on your feet, and march ahead, and you will be one of the examples in West Africa," Lieutenant-General Abu Tayeb Muhammad Zahirul Alam told the community at Maimu Town, near Totota in Liberia's central province of Bong.

The General encouraged the people of Maimu Town to own the project and manage it well. "This is your property, it is you who have to really nurture it, secure it, and develop it further."
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