UN mission to stay in Liberia
New York, 05 Mar – (ANA) - A top United Nations official today assured the Liberian people that the world body is not preparing to leave the country but seeking to reconfigure its presence after assessing the ability of national institutions to maintain peace and security. Assistant Secretary-General for Peacekeeping Operations Edmond Mulet who led a 23-member UN technical assessment mission to Liberia said his team would be formulating some recommendations towards “the strategic, very gradual, very careful handing over of security responsibilities from UNMIL to national Authorities.” He told a press conference in the Liberian capital Monrovia. “However, this does not mean that UNMIL is leaving Liberia,” he pointed out. “It means that the Mission is focusing on a gradual, as I said, and responsible transition process and the United Nations will continue to be involved in building the capacity of the Liberian security agencies to really ensure that they continue to prepare themselves to take over security responsibilities…“And we will continue to support the Government and other Liberian stakeholders in addressing other critical challenges. So in that sense, we are seeking to reconfigure UNMIL,” he stated. The UN has maintained a peacekeeping force in Liberia since 2003 to bolster a ceasefire agreement ending a decade of war that killed nearly 150,000 people, mostly civilians. UNMIL’s mandate includes helping to restore the rule of law and democratic processes as well as facilitating humanitarian assistance. Last November Liberia’s President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, stated that the UN will continue to play a crucial role in the country, with development support becoming the main focus of the Organization’s programmes as the need for humanitarian assistance and peacekeeping
recedes. (ANA)
FA/ANA/05 March 2012---------