Several town hall meetings have been held in recent months in Bomi, Gbarpolu and Grand Cape Mount Counties to assure citizens of their security in the wake of UNMIL’s military withdrawal from the Western region of Liberia. UNMIL Joint Transition Working Group (JTWG) held the meetings in Sinje, Bopolu and Tubmanburg between February and April 2014.

The town hall meetings aim to create awareness among the citizens about the relocation of the Nigerian Military to the Southeast and the closure of the military camps in their respective areas, and to assure them of the Government’s plans to address the security gaps that would be created upon the departure of UNMIL military. It is also an open forum for citizens to express their concerns on security issues and the current security arrangements by the Liberian security agencies in taking full responsibility of security matters in the region. A cross-section of citizens, local leaders, civil society groups, and County Officials participated in the interactive forums characterized by statements from the Government and UNMIL, as well as question and answer and a press interaction to afford wider publicity and outreach to the local citizenry.

The UNMIL Nigerian Battalion has withdrawn from Western Liberia to relocate to the South East to strengthen security along the border with Côte d’Ivoire. The relocation of the Nigerian Battalion and closure of the UNMIL military Camps in Sinje, Bopolu and Tubmanburg are part of UNMIL’s transition. The three-phased military drawdown was endorsed by the Security Council in September 2012.

During the town hall meetings, the Assistant Minister for Operations of the Ministry of National Defense (MoD)  Victoria Sawyer reassured the citizens of the Government’s commitment to maintaining security, law and order. The Minister informed that the withdrawal of the Nigerian Battalion was part of the jointly planned and well-coordinated UNMIL transition, including the hand-over of security responsibilities to the government. UNMIL representatives emphasized that the closure of the military camps is an important milestone, a great sign of progress in Liberia’s peace process, and reflects Liberia’s growing stability; and that UNMIL will continue to assist in building the capacity of Liberia’s security agencies.

Key concerns raised by the citizens bordered on logistical constraints and inadequate personnel of the LNP, BIN and other national security agencies, which hindered their ability to respond to crime and the security situation.
The Government assured the citizens of its continued commitment to provide security and give full protection to the citizens, and that national security agencies will continue to work with UNMIL to consolidate peace in the country. The Government also informed of its plans to address these concerns through the deployment of the LNP Police Support Unit (PSU) squads in three counties to boost the strength of LNP, improvement in mobility and logistics, establishment or activation of County and District Security Councils, and the eventual establishment of a Regional Justice & Security Hub in Tubmanburg. The Government called upon the citizens to work closely and render the necessary cooperation to the LNP and other security agencies in addressing security issues.

On its part, the UNMIL team reassured that although the military is being relocated, the Field Offices, Regional Administration, UN Police Advisers, UN Military Observers, and the Nepalese Formed Police Unit were remaining and would continue to work with the county authorities, local government and security institutions in supporting national processes and programmes geared towards peace consolidation and in building the capacity of Liberia’s security agencies.

The local authorities and citizens expressed sincere gratitude to NIBATT and UNMIL military for sustaining the peace efforts and for the humanitarian projects in the region, which they said will forever remain in their minds and hearts. The county authorities expressed deep gratitude to UNMIL for the donation of assets and other facilities in the military camps for use by national security agencies.