CIAO DATE: 02/2009
January 2009
Since independence and for fourteen years of war,
Liberia's army, police and other security agencies have
mostly been sources of insecurity and misery for a
destitute people. The internationally driven attempt to
radically reform the security sector since the war's end
in 2003 is a major chance to put this right and prevent
new destabilisation. Security sector reform (SSR) programs
have been unprecedented in ambition but with
mixed results. Army reform, entailing complete disbanding
of existing forces, has made significant progress
despite lack of proper oversight of private military
companies (PMCs) and of consensus on strategic objectives.
But police and other security reforms are much
less satisfactory. The bold approach to army reform
was possible due to strong national consensus and the
presence of a large, liberally mandated UN presence.
Government and donors must sustain their support to
maintain hard-won momentum in army reform and,
once clear benchmarks are set, give a floundering police
force more resources. The drawdown of the UN force,
begun in the second half of 2008, underlines the urgency.
Resource link: Liberia: Uneven Progress in Security Sector Reform [PDF] - 2.4M