Libéria

This report contains the 2020 Peer Review Report on the Exchange of Information on Request of Liberia.

Illicit financial flows (IFFs) generated by the artisanal and small-scale gold mining (ASGM) sector in West Africa have historically contributed to conflict and instability, although it would be a mistake to classify this issue as a criminal matter, given its links to formal and informal networks and local livelihoods. This study examines IFFs associated with the ASGM sector in Ghana and Liberia and reveals a complex web of informal and illicit activity associated with IFFs, with detrimental consequences for development. It focuses on gold because of its prominence in the West African Region and artisanal small-scale mining (ASM), rather than large-scale mining (LSM). Further, ASMG is largely informal and consequently more vulnerable to exploitation by criminal networks, and plays a prominent role as a local livelihood. This case study is relatively narrow in focus, providing insights into the nature and scope of ASGM activities and their resulting IFFs, and making several observations on those areas where action could be taken in an effort to reduce IFF risks. The study selected Ghana and Liberia as two countries where research could be conducted, and where gold is a major industry.

L’objectif de cette note est d’analyser l’évolution temporelle et spatiale des violences impliquant les femmes en Afrique de l’Ouest au cours des 20 dernières années. Une première partie montre que le nombre de victimes civiles des conflits ouest-africains dépasse désormais celui attribué aux batailles entre le gouvernement et les groupes armés. Le contrôle de la population civile est désormais devenu l’un des enjeux majeurs des insurrections de la région. Cette évolution conduit à une augmentation des violences faites aux femmes, qui sont souvent les premières victimes des luttes identitaires. Une seconde partie montre que les femmes participent également aux actes de violence, notamment par le biais des attentats-suicides dans le bassin du lac Tchad. Ce phénomène est cependant en forte diminution du fait de la perte de contrôle territorial de Boko Haram depuis le milieu des années 2010. En conclusion, la note souligne la nécessité de mettre en œuvre des stratégies contre-insurrectionnelles qui visent primordialement à protéger les populations, notamment les femmes.

Successful transitions are vital; providing the means to secure the gains achieved through UN missions. A carefully managed transition process is one of the best ways to guard against backslide and to ensure the continuity of essential peacebuilding and conflict prevention efforts. As part of this, it will be important to build and reinforce the essential foundations for economic stability, and to maintain financing for peace programming post-withdrawal. Therefore, the overall objective of this research was to address the systemic challenges of financing UN Mission transitions, by outlining opportunities to ensure that: the potentially negative economic impacts and disruptions of UN Mission transitions are mitigated; financing for peacebuilding programmes is sustained post mission withdrawal; and domestic economic growth is sustained and supported where possible. This paper combines global trends and research on peace operation transitions with findings from case studies in DRC (initial stages of MONUSCO transition), Haiti (handover from MINUJUSH to BINUH), Liberia (following UNMIL’s withdrawal) and Sudan (transition of UNAMID). The paper focuses on opportunities that the international community could integrate into programming, co-ordination and financing. Accordingly, the paper is structured around the three phases of transition – ongoing UN missions, the transition, and sustaining capacity and economic stability post-withdrawal.

African governments are increasingly confronted with new forms of political violence. The situation is particularly worrying in the Sahara-Sahel where violence is on the rise. This degrading security situation has prompted African countries and their partners to intervene militarily to stabilise the region and to prevent the spread of extremism and violence against civilians. However, these initiatives face many obstacles due to the transnational nature and geography of violence. Tensions regionalise across state borders when armed groups, defeated by counter-insurgency efforts, relocate to other countries. This study maps the evolution of violence across North and West Africa, with a particular focus on Mali, Lake Chad and Libya. In the regions experiencing the highest levels of political insecurity, it identifies whether and how conflicts tend to cluster or spread, potentially across national borders. The work is based on a new spatial indicator of political violence designed to assess the long-term evolution of conflicts and provide policy options.

This publication contains the Supplementary Phase 1 Peer Review Report for Liberia.