Liberia

Mine Ban Policy

The Republic of Liberia acceded to the Mine Ban Treaty on 23 December 1999, becoming a State Party on 1 June 2000. Liberia has not taken any legislative or other measures to implement the treaty domestically, as required by Article 9.

As of June 2008, Liberia had not submitted its annual Article 7 report due by 30 April. Liberia submitted its initial—and only—Article 7 report on 20 October 2004, nearly four years late, with a cover letter from the Minister of Defense. 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] It did not submit annual updates, due by 30 April each year, in 2005, 2006, or 2007.

Liberia has stated that it has not produced, transferred, stockpiled, or used antipersonnel mines. It appears that antipersonnel mines were not used during the second civil war (1999–2003), and no landmines were handed in during the disarmament process. Landmines were, however, used during the country’s first civil war (1989–1997).^[2] In a letter accompanying the Article 7 report of October 2004, the Minister of Defense said that Liberia’s “National Defense Policy has never permitted the purchase for inclusion in our inventories, Anti-Personnel Mines.”^[3]

Liberia did not participate in the Eighth Meeting of States Parties in Jordan in November 2007, or the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in June 2008.

Liberia has not engaged in the discussions that States Parties have had on matters of interpretation and implementation related to Articles 1, 2 and 3. Thus, it has not made known its views on issues related to joint military operations with states not party to the treaty, foreign stockpiling or transit of antipersonnel mines, antivehicle mines with sensitive fuzes or antihandling devices, and the permissible number of mines retained for training.

Liberia is party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW), its Amended Protocol II on landmines, and its Protocol V on explosive remnants of war (ERW). The two CCW protocols entered into force for Liberia on 16 March 2006. Liberia did not attend the Ninth Annual Conference of States Parties to Amended Protocol II in November 2007 and did not submit a national annual report in accordance with Article 13.

Liberia registered for the Dublin Diplomatic Conference on Cluster Munitions in May 2008, but did not attend.

Landmine/ERW Problem

Liberia is affected by ERW as a result of 14 years of internal and regional warfare involving neighboring Sierra Leone, Guinea and Côte d’Ivoire. As of July 2008, there was no evidence of a residual landmine problem, although a small number of mines, primarily antivehicle mines, were used during the years of conflict.^[4] In September 2003, the UN Mine Action Service conducted an assessment mission to Liberia and found no credible reports of mine use during the conflict from 1999 to August 2003, but suggested there might be some areas still affected from previous conflicts.^[5]

Landmine/ERW Casualties

In 2007 and until June 2008, no new landmine/ERW casualties were confirmed in Liberia.^[6] However, it is possible that incidents remained unreported as the British NGO, Landmine Action, who previously provided casualty information, temporarily suspended operations in July 2007 due to lack of funding.^[7] Three ERW casualties were reported in 2006.^[8]

There is no casualty data collection mechanism in Liberia. From November 2004 to July 2007, Landmine Action collected casualty data as part of its Small Arms Light Weapons (SALW)/ERW contamination survey and mine/ERW risk education (RE) programs.^[9] It recorded at least 14 ERW casualties in four surveyed communities and one in Monrovia.^[10] International organizations share information about incidents during coordination meetings.^[11]

Between December 2006 and July 2007, the Liberia Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare carried out the 2007 Liberia Demographic and Health Survey, which included disability questions. Results were not published as of June 2008.^[12]

Landmine/ERW Risk Education^[13]

In 2007, Landmine Action continued to carry out RE activities in Lofa, Nimba, Grand Cape Mount, and Montserrado counties. The program aimed to raise awareness about the risks posed by ERW, encourage safe practices, and develop systems for recording and reporting dangerous items. Based on the assessment, communities were prioritized, at-risk groups identified and the level of RE training established. The RE team consisted of four national staff (two men and two women) trained by Landmine Action. After initial RE sessions of about three days, communities received monthly follow-up visits to monitor and enhance their skills. It was found that women were key to developing safe behavior among men and children. During the follow-up visits, the ledger of suspicious items found was checked, weapons and ammunition were removed, and ERW findings confirmed and reported to the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) for disposal. Landmine Action suspended its RE activities in July 2007 due to lack of funding and was still seeking funding as of June 2008.^[14]

Victim Assistance

Liberia does not have health or rehabilitation programs specifically for mine/ERW survivors. The healthcare system was severely damaged by conflict, and reconstruction efforts have been lacking. It has been estimated that less than 10% of the population has access to healthcare, and there is unequal rural-urban access.^[15] Only two of the four medical training facilities that existed before the conflicts remain and they lack qualified staff, supplies and basic resources such as water and electricity.^[16] One of the existing facilities requested emergency funding from the government to continue functioning in March 2008.^[17] The health sector is entirely dependent on declining international assistance.^[18] The lack of roads and emergency vehicles also impedes access to services.^[19]

Physical rehabilitation services are free of charge at the Monrovia Rehabilitation Center (MRC); this is the only rehabilitation center in the country and it is not able to meet needs. In 2007, MRC began an outreach program in Bong, Grand Bassa, and Margibi counties with the support of Handicap International (HI), but other counties still lacked services.^[20] Outreach activities within Monrovia and its suburbs could not be achieved as planned in 2007 because of staff limitations.^[21]

Discrimination against persons with disabilities is illegal but persons with disabilities rarely enjoy equal rights, especially in rural areas. Most buildings are inaccessible to persons with disabilities. In 2007, the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare conducted a series of disability awareness-raising programs for government social workers.^[22]

On 30 March 2007, Liberia signed the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol, but it had not ratified them as of 31 July 2008. In 2008, the Liberian National Union of Organizations of the Disabled (NUOD), with support from the UN Development Programme, undertook an awareness-raising project on the convention, which included the presentation of a petition in June 2008 calling on legislators to initiate the ratification process.^[23]

The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare’s National Health Plan and National Health Policy 2007–2011 aims to expand access to qualitative basic healthcare and improve infrastructure. The plan calls for a situation analysis of a number of factors, including disability, which started with the Demographic and Health Survey.^[24] The plan does not address physical rehabilitation. Disability has been mainstreamed into Liberia’s Poverty Reduction Strategy due to HI and NUOD lobbying.^[25]

In 2007, the International Committee of the Red Cross continued assisting the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare to overhaul the health system. Support included capacity-building and staff recruitment, the establishment of a health post in Kpotomai, provision of medicine and equipment, and staff incentives.^[26]

In January 2007, HI started providing financial and technical support to the MRC and conducted technical support visits for orthopedic technicians and physiotherapists.^[27] MRC provided 901 physiotherapy consultations, produced 256 mobility devices (42 prostheses), distributed 643 other mobility aids, and repaired 209 mobility devices (140 prostheses). The outreach team assisted 69 persons with disabilities outside of Monrovia. Most of the patients were war-injured (number of mine/ERW survivors unknown). HI provided LRD2,878,982 (US$48,212) and the JFK Medical Center provided in-kind assistance. In 2007, the United States agreed to renovate MRC facilities and to build a proposed extension building. It conducted a preliminary assessment visit on 26 November 2007 and planned to visit again in 2008.^[28]

Support for Mine Action

The US reported contributing $75,000 to Liberia through the Centers for Disease Control in 2007.^[29] No funding was reported for Liberia in 2006.