Liberia: Abuja accord affirmed.

The Security Council on 27 November extended the mandate of the United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL) for another four months, until 31 March 1997. It also called on the factions to cease hostilities and implement their commitments, especially the 17 August 1996 Abuja II Agreement, reached under the auspices of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS).

That Agreement, concluded in Abuja, Nigeria, established an implementation timetable, provided a mechanism for verifying compliance, and proposed possible measures against the factions in the event of non-compliance.

The Council decided to maintain UNOMIL deployments at an appropriate level as recommended by the Secretary-General, who was requested to advise the Council of any planned further deployments.

Under resolution 1083 (1996), adopted unanimously, factions were also urged to complete on time the disarmament process, which began on 22 November, and is considered to be one of the key steps leading up to the . elections planned for May 1997. (As of mid-January, approximately 7,000 fighters had been disarmed and demobilized, out of an estimated total of 60,000 fighters.)

The Council stressed the need to support work and training projects to help ensure the social and economic rehabilitation of demobilized combatants. On the heels of a damning report on the effects of war on children, it also condemned the recruitment, training and deployment of children for combat, and demanded that "the warring parties immediately cease this inhumane and abhorrent activity and release all child soldiers for demobilization".

According to the Secretary-General's 19 November progress report on UNOMIL (S/1996/962), there had been some encouraging developments in the country's situation, despite a 31 October attempt on the life of Charles Taylor, a member of the Council of State and leader of the National Patriotic Front. However, with the ECOWAS Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) having acted quickly to stabilize matters, the cease-fire continued to hold in Monrovia, as well as in most parts of the country.

Implementation begins

The leaders of the two wings of the United Liberation Movement of Liberia for Democracy had agreed in October to cease hostilities and create a buffer zone between their forces in the west. ECOMOG and UNOMIL, which increased patrols in the area, had observed that while the situation remained fragile, the two factions had nonetheless begun to implement the agreements.

Recent steps forward regarding the complicated issue of elections were also reported. Following the receipt of a formal request from the Council of State, the United Nations would be sending a technical survey team to prepare recommendations on the conduct of the electoral process and the role the United Nations could play.

The Council of State had taken the initiative in establishing a committee to seek the views of civilian and faction leaders, as well as of the Government's external partners, on major issues relating to the elections. The United Nations recommendations are expected to be released in mid-January 1997.

The report also said UNOMIL, in cooperation with the Ministry of Justice, ECOMOG and local human rights groups, was continuing its investigation into the massacre on 28 September of 21 civilians at Sinje, Grand Cape Mount County in Liberia, and was following up on other allegations of human rights violations. A human rights officer has been assigned to assist the Secretary-General's Special Representative, Anthony Nyakyi, in carrying out that aspect of UNOMIL's mandate.

As at 15 November, UNOMIL's military strength stood at 23 observers, but was expected to be brought up to 34 soon. The deployment of additional military observers would depend on progress in the peace process, particularly with regard to disarmament and demobilization. In October, the Secretary-General told the Council that the final composition of the military component would depend on the deployment of ECOMOG, but would in no case exceed force strength of 92 military observers. ECOMOG's force strength in November stood at approximately 7,500 all ranks; its main priority is to ensure security in Monrovia and its environs, and in the designated safe havens of Buchanan and Kakata.

Call for international support

In a report of 17 October (S/1996/858), the Secretary-General provided recommendations, as requested in Security Council resolution 1071 (1996) of 30 August, on additional ways in which UNOMIL could support the peace process in Liberia, particularly in the fields of disarmament, demobilization and human rights. Recommendations on the assistance the international community could contribute towards the holding of elections were not included, as ECOWAS and the Council of State were still consulting on the issue. However, given that little time remained to make preparations, he said it was "essential" that the Council of State decide early regarding the matter.

Unless the faction leaders finally decided to match their words with clear and verifiable deeds, the international community was unlikely to continue to extend its support to the peace process in Liberia, the Secretary-General said. However, while their attitude "remains a matter of concern, the new Chairperson of the Council of State, Ruth Perry, and many Liberian civilian groups are trying energetically to restore peace in that country", he said. He called on the international community to give her and the civilian groups the support they needed to soften the intransigence of the faction leaders and restore a peaceful society in Liberia.

In an 8 November letter (S/1996/917), the Security Council President said the Council welcomed the recommendations and asked the Secretary-General to make appropriate arrangements to carry them out, on the understanding that the deployment of personnel and logistic resources necessary for this purpose would not be undertaken unless sufficient progress was made by the factions.

On 20 November, the Secretary-General informed the Council that he was appointing Major-General Srikander Shami of Pakistan as Chief Military Observer of UNOMIL, replacing Major-General Mahmoud Talha of Egypt, who returned to his national service on 30 June 1996.

RELATED ARTICLE: 'Disarm our children and redirect their lives'

* The Liberian civil war, which began more than six years ago, has unleashed one of the worst man-made disasters in recent memory. It has claimed over 250, 000 lives, about 15 per cent of the population; forced over 800,000 Liberians to seek refuge in neighbouring countries; and left several hundred thousand others internally displaced. Regrettably, the most vulnerable groups - women, children and the elderly - continue to be victimized by the ravages disease, hunger and malnutrition, which are commonplace under such conditions. The wanton killing civilians and the destruction basic infrastructure, which intensified in April of this year, continue to retard economic activities and deprive the people of their fundamental human rights.

* Our leadership is challenged with the difficult task of pursuing national reconciliation, national reunification, repatriation and resettlement of refugees and internally displaced persons, and the creation of an enabling environment for the holding of free and fair democratic elections by May 1997. Additionally, and more demanding, we must ensure the successful disarmament of combatants and their demobilization and reintegration into civil society. This task requires us, as a matter of urgency, to first disarm our children and redirect their lives. We also have to address the immense suffering that the war has inflicted on our people.

* There is a renewed hope for peace in Liberia as a result of the decisions taken at the last Abuja summit. The failure over the past six years to achieve peace in the country made it imperative that long overdue measures be taken to ensure the final and successful implementation of the [1995] Abuja Agreement.

- Ruth Perry Chairperson, Council of State of the Liberian National Transitional Government, United Nations General Assembly, 9 October 1996