Monrovia, 13 February 2015

Special Representative of the Secretary-General Karin Landgren delivered the following remarks at a meeting with Liberia’s media managers on 13 February.

2014 was a tough year for Liberia:  Ebola appeared, deadly and terrifying, closing schools and hospitals.  Borders closed, too, and partners started leaving the country.  No county was completely spared.  Now Ebola is almost gone – due in large part to Liberians at the community level taking on board the protective measures for recognizing Ebola and preventing its spread.

For several months last year, reporting in all Liberian media converged around Ebola as the national issue. The media continues to play an important part in the fight against this deadly disease.

We can’t declare victory yet, but getting this far is a triumph for Liberians.  This nation showed great resilience during the crisis and conquering Ebola should be a great source of national pride to all Liberians.

Liberians can also draw inspiration from the consultative process over whether to proceed with polling during the Ebola epidemic.  The NEC, the legislature, political parties, the Executive, medical experts and others were able to arrive at a consensus to move the elections to December. When the elections were held on 20 December, they took place in a predominantly calm atmosphere. Complaints were brought to institutions, the NEC and the Supreme Court, where they could be resolved peacefully.

The Liberia National Police (LNP) provided capable support to the elections. Unlike polling in the past, UNMIL’s direct contribution was mostly limited to carrying supplies and security officials to the most remote locations.

For all its horrors, the Ebola crisis shed light on ways that Liberians can come together to build a better Liberia in a Mano River region that has remained stable despite the epidemic.

The post-Ebola period coincides with the UNMIL transition.

UN Security Council resolution 2190, adopted on 15 December, contains many messages for the Government – chief among them is the resumption of the UNMIL drawdown after Ebola is defeated and a complete security transition by the end of June 2016.  As the Security Council states, the Government of Liberia bears primary and ultimate responsibility for security and the protection of its population. Therefore security needs to be a high priority for the Government.

I encourage Liberians to approach the transition with the same determination, consultation and pride with which they have brought Ebola to the brink of extinction.  I encourage the media to report critically on the transition in a constructive way that highlights both shortcomings and successes.

At the heart of the transition is strengthening of the LNP and BIN (Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization).  These vital organizations need to make intense efforts now to be ready for the transition before July of next year.

The Government is working on a transition plan for building the most urgently-needed national capacity before this final handover of responsibility. The momentum is excellent thanks in no small part to the Minister of Justice, Benedict Sannoh, and also Dr. Thomas Jaye, a distinguished Liberian working with the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre in Accra, who are taking this national plan forward.

The LNP held a retreat last week to identify critical areas for development in order to assume its full responsibility for public security in Liberia by June 2016. The Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization is holding a similar retreat today and tomorrow. 

UNMIL continues to support institutional strengthening of the police in areas such as leadership and management capacity, professional standards and oversight and financial accountability, as well as training in forensics, investigative capacity and community-oriented policing.  This institutional strengthening and transparency will be vital for sustaining a stronger police presence outside the capital.   Making the best use of the existing police force is more important than increasing the number of officers.

Compared to the police, far less of the UNMIL Force responsibilities will need to be transferred to the Armed Forces of Liberia. One critical one, however, is engineering.  UNMIL maintains UN military units that work on engineering and transport, and help maintain a significant road network especially in the west.  Another is the safe disposal of explosive remnants of war – such as undetonated grenades and mortars – that still turn up and are a danger to the public. 

The justice system needs to be strengthened in tandem with strengthening the police.  Liberia needs a justice system that people can trust. Too many Liberians have suffered from excessive pre-trial detention. Juvenile justice is underdeveloped.  Reports of sexual and gender-based violence continue to rise in the aftermath of Ebola.  Too few justice and corrections personnel are deployed outside Montserrado County.

Liberia is developing a post-Ebola recovery plan, and I urge that justice and security requirements be part of this plan.   Recall the immense challenges to security when Ebola was at its height, and the well-founded fear of Ebola entering the prison system. Justice and security should form an integral component of the post-Ebola plan.

UNMIL’s transition is broader than the handover of security responsibilities. Indeed, the completion of the security handover does not necessary imply the closure of UNMIL. The Security Council will ultimately decide how to reconfigure the mission and when to close it.

Before I take questions, I would like to raise a few points not directly related to security handover, but which are nonetheless fundamental to Liberia’s long-term peace and stability. 

Many Liberians talk to me about wanting their elected politicians to be responsive to their needs, whether that means obtaining better conditions for farmers, access to education, better health services or greater fairness and transparency. Liberia continues to develop its integrity institutions, including the General Auditing Commission, the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, the Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, but they face challenges.

On reconciliation, there is much unfinished business from the past. There are questions of social cohesion and of historical cleavages.  Will Liberians have this national conversation?  Twelve years after the war ended, we are still talking about writing a common Liberian history, and about discussions in Palava huts.  These things will only happen if Liberian voices call for them and decide to make them happen. 

Kofi Woods spoke creatively about re-imagining the role of the AFL. He talked about an AFL that not only serves as a military force, but which participates in public works such as engineering.  This is closely linked, I suggest, to the important matter of Liberian national pride and national unity. 

This is the time to build up and shape the trustworthy institutions that Liberians deserve - especially the police, the courts, the legislature, the army and indeed the media. 

As media managers, you influence the attitudes of Liberians towards your country’s future. I encourage you to use that influence, responsibly and soberly, to pull Liberia up.

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