faces many challenges , the Liberia Peacebuilding Plan created prior to UNMIL ’ s departure laid the groundwork for ongoing efforts to sustain peace in the years to come .
Discussion .
Brutal civil war in Liberia raged from 1989 to 2003 , with a brief respite in 1997 after which violence resumed . During the course of the war , estimates indicate that as many as 1.5 million people were displaced , as many as 250,000 people killed , over 20,000 child soldiers participated in the fighting , and an estimated 80 % of girls / women suffered from conflictrelated sexual violence . A Comprehensive Peace Agreement was signed in August 2003 in Accra , Ghana , after several failed prior agreements . Women in Liberian civil society proved crucial to bringing an end to the violence and successfully negotiating an end to the war through the Mass Action for Peace campaign which mobilized women from all levels of society , including Christians and Muslims and those displaced .
After the peace deal was finalized , UN Security Council Resolution 1509 established the United Nations Mission in Liberia ( UNMIL ) to support implementation of the peace process . During UNMIL ’ s decade and a half in Liberia , the mission assisted in the disarmament of over 100,000 combatants , supported capability development to protect human rights and rebuild the security sector , and facilitated humanitarian assistance provision . The mission also supported the government through three peaceful elections , including the peaceful transfer of power from two-term President and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to her political rival George Weah after the December 2017 elections .
UNMIL began preparing for its eventual closure a decade prior to its departure from Liberia . January 2008 marked the beginning of a transition of UN activities from peacekeeping to peacebuilding , as UNMIL began shifting efforts to assist other UN agencies . UNMIL ’ s civil-military coordination ( CIMIC ) bore the responsibility for this transition management – reducing the dependency of the host nation on the mission , in part through confidencebuilding measures and joint patrols . UNMIL officially transferred security responsibilities to Liberia in 2016 . On 30 March 2018 , the last UNMIL peacekeepers left Liberia .
Prior to UNMIL ’ s departure from Liberia , the UN Country Team ( UNCT ) took stock of what UN capabilities would be needed after UNMIL ’ s final drawdown . The Liberian Peacebuilding Plan was developed in spring 2017 by UNMIL through consultation with the Government of Liberia and international partners as well as Liberian civil society and political parties . As a joint project , several UN agencies , including the UN Development Programme , Department of Peacekeeping Operations , Department of Field Support , and the Department of Political Affairs , assessed their capacities as compared to priorities in the Peacebuilding Plan . This highlighted which efforts and continued investment would be needed in Liberia from the UNCT following UNMIL ’ s departure .
It is important to formulate a peacebuilding plan based on a good understanding of the root causes and drivers of violent conflict . Root causes of conflict in Liberia , as identified through the Truth and Reconciliation Commission ( TRC ), included poverty , over-centralized governance , lack of access to justice , dual legal systems , politicization , and land disputes , among others . As such , priorities in the Liberian Peacebuilding Plan included access to justice , security sector reform , reconciliation , local governance decentralization , and cross-
Table of Contents | Quick Look | Contact PKSOI Page 20 of 34