*Day one of UNMIL

By: Nat Bayjay, nbayjay2010@gmail.com

It was not until mid 2003 that relief was finally brought to the war-stricken people of the tiny West African state of Liberia who had been involved in over 14 years of civil war. An estimated 250,000 precious lives of Liberians were lost while the entire country’s already limited infrastructures were destroyed. The Liberian nation now breathes peace. And that peace is being maintained!

October 1, 2009 marks the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL)’s sixth anniversary of peace keeping in Liberia. Thanks firstly goes to the sub-regional body the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) who returned for the second time to intervene in the deteriorating situation in Liberia in 2003 under the name ECOMIL. This follows its previous peacekeeping mission from the initial stages of the civil war when it intervened as the first force in August of 1990 under the name ECOMOG. With the subsequent deployment of the ECOWAS Mission in Liberia, the security situation in the country improved.

On the sixth anniversary of the start of operations of the United Nations’ Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), the top UN Envoy in the country has reiterated UNMIL’s commitment to achieving sustainable and irrevocable peace.

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG), Ms. Ellen Margrethe Løj assured Liberians that the drawdown of UN forces in the country would be “carried out in a gradual manner so as not to jeopardize the gains we have made thus far, as well as to allow Liberian security institutions to be up and running.” Ms. Løj presented UN medals to Ethiopian military peacekeepers in the southeastern county of Grand Gedeh for their contribution to the peace and recovery process of Liberia.

“Thank you for being the torch-bearers of this noble cause and for helping us all address an issue that you know I consider paramount in our day-to-day interactions with those around us,” she said.

Brief Background of the UN Mission in Liberia: The formation of UNMIL followed a Security Council adopted resolution 1497 (2003), authorizing the establishment of a multinational force in Liberia and declaring its readiness to establish a follow-on United Nations stabilization force to be deployed.

On 8 July 2003, as fighting between Government forces and various warring factions intensified and humanitarian tragedy threatened, the Secretary-General decided to appoint Jacques Paul Klein of the United States as Special Representative for Liberia. He was entrusted with the task of coordinating the activities of the United Nations agencies in Liberia and supporting the emerging transitional arrangements. On 29 July, the Secretary-General outlined a three-phased deployment of international troops to Liberia, leading to a multidimensional United Nations peacekeeping operation. He also indicated that, in view of the appointment of Mr. Klein, and the envisaged establishment of a United Nations operation in Liberia.

On 18 August, 2003 an agreement was signed by the Liberian parties called the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) in Accra, Ghana. By that Agreement, the parties requested the United Nations to deploy a force to Liberia under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations to support the National Transitional Government of Liberia and assist in the implementation of the Agreement.

Since that time the situation in Liberia has developed rapidly.