United Nations Security Council Resolution 2116 – Liberia

Resolution 2116 (2013)

The Security Council,

Recalling its resolutions and statements by its President concerning the situation in Liberia and the subregion, in particular its resolutions 1509 (2003), 1836 (2008), 1885 (2009), 1938 (2010), 1971 (2011), 2008 (2011), and 2066 (2012), resolution 2100 (2013) on the situation in Mali, and resolution 2112 (2013) on the situation in Côte d’Ivoire,

Welcoming the Secretary-General’s report of 28 February 2013 (S/2013/124) and the Secretary-General’s report of 12 August 2013 (S/2013/479) and taking note of the recommendations contained therein,

Welcoming the overall progress towards restoring peace, security, and stability in Liberia, commending, on the tenth anniversary of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement, the enduring commitment of the people and Government of Liberia to peace and to developing democratic processes and institutions and initiating important reform efforts and further commending the continued efforts of the Government to strengthen security cooperation in the subregion, notably with the Governments of Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Côte d’Ivoire,

Recognizing that lasting stability in Liberia and the subregion will require well-functioning, accountable, and sustainable government institutions, including security and rule of law sectors,

Encouraging the Government of Liberia to accelerate its efforts to further national reconciliation and economic recovery, and to combat corruption and promote efficiency and good governance, in particular by continuing to strengthen Government transparency and accountability to manage effectively Liberia’s natural resources, noting with concern the potential for conflict over Liberia’s natural resources and disputes related to land ownership and noting that issues related to corruption threaten to undermine stability and the effectiveness of government institutions,

Recognizing the extension provided by the Government of Liberia to the Constitution Review Committee, looking forward to a comprehensive, inclusive constitutional review process as well as the development of the National Human Rights Action Plan and the implementation of the National Reconciliation Roadmap, urging efforts to strengthen the Independent National Commission on Human Rights and calling on all Liberian stakeholders to intensify momentum towards achieving greater social cohesion,

Welcoming the contributions of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) to security sector reform (SSR), rule of law, and national reconciliation, further welcoming the establishment in Gbarnga of the first justice and security hub with the support of the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund and encouraging the Government of Liberia to apply the lessons learned as it prioritizes the development of additional hubs to extend its provision of security and other needed services throughout the country,

Expressing its appreciation for the continued assistance provided by both the Government and the Liberian people to Ivorian refugees in eastern Liberia and taking note of the progress towards their voluntary repatriation to Côte d’Ivoire,

Welcoming the launch of the National Vision 2030 in December 2012 and looking forward to it providing Liberians with a broad, participatory process to address the long-term political, economic, and social challenges facing the country,

Taking note of the effectiveness of Operation Restore Hope on Liberia’s border with Côte d’Ivoire conducted jointly by the Liberia National Police (LNP), the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization, and the Armed Forces of Liberia and recognizing that the instability in western Côte d’Ivoire continues to pose cross-border security challenges for Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire,

Commending the work of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), under the leadership of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG), for its continuing and significant contribution to maintaining peace and stability in Liberia, noting with satisfaction the increasing cooperation between UNMIL and the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI), noting with concern the threats to stability posed by insecurity, in particular those posed by transnational organized crime, including illicit activities such as arms trafficking, and in this regard, welcoming the development by UNMIL of a comprehensive strategy for the protection of civilians and encouraging the efforts to ensure adequate human rights capacity and expertise within UNMIL to carry out its human rights promotion, protection, and monitoring activities,

Affirming that the Government of Liberia bears the primary responsibility to reform the security sector and encouraging the Government, with the support of UNMIL, to demonstrate substantive progress in the reform and restructuring of the justice sector,

Commending the cooperation between, and significant efforts of, the Government of Liberia and UNMIL to plan, manage, and implement the first phase of UNMIL’s military drawdown, pursuant to its resolution 2066 (2012), noting with concern that the Government remains challenged to fund the continuing costs of deploying security personnel and resources to operate and maintain the vacated sites, urging the Government to intensify its efforts towards achieving progress on the transition of security responsibilities from UNMIL to the national authorities, particularly with regard to prioritizing and resourcing the critical gaps and improving the capacity and capability of the LNP and the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization as well as the justice sector and further urging the Government to redouble its efforts to register and track arms and related material used and imported by its security forces,

Recognizing the significant challenges that remain across all sectors, including continuing problems with violent crime, in particular the high rates of sexual and gender-based violence, especially involving children, recalling its resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 1889 (2009), 1960 (2010) and 2106 (2013) on women, peace and security, welcoming the renewed efforts by the Government of Liberia, in coordination with UNMIL, to promote and protect the rights of civilians, in particular women and children, in this regard, recognizing the Government for signing the UN-Women’s COMMIT initiative and reaffirming the importance of appropriate gender expertise and training in missions mandated by the Security Council,

Welcoming the efforts of the Secretary-General to keep all peacekeeping operations, including UNMIL, under close review and reiterating the need for the Security Council to pursue a rigorous, strategic approach to peacekeeping deployments,

Expressing its appreciation to the international community, including the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union (AU), the Mano River Union (MRU), and the United Nations Office for West Africa (UNOWA), for their continuing support to consolidate peace, security, and stability in Liberia and the region and taking note of the High-level Meeting on 29 June 2013, co-chaired by the Special Representative for West Africa, President of the ECOWAS Commission, and Secretary-General of the MRU, to launch the process of developing a subregional strategy for the MRU region,

Determining that the situation in Liberia continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security in the region,

Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,

1. Decides that the mandate of UNMIL shall be extended until 30 September 2014;

2. Emphasizes that the Government of Liberia bears primary and ultimate responsibility for security and the protection of its population and urges the Government to prioritize the effective and rapid development of the security agencies, including through the timely provision of sufficient financial resources and other support;

3. Reaffirms its decision that UNMIL’s primary tasks are to continue to support the Government in order to solidify peace and stability in Liberia and to protect civilians, and that UNMIL shall also support the Government’s efforts, as appropriate, to achieve a successful transition of complete security responsibility to the LNP by strengthening the LNP’s capabilities to manage existing personnel, improve training programmes to expedite their readiness to assume security responsibilities, and coordinate these efforts with all partners, including the Government of Liberia, the national police leadership, and donor partners;

4. Recalls its endorsement, in its resolution 2066 (2012), of the Secretary-General’s recommendation to decrease UNMIL’s military strength by four infantry battalions and related enablers in three phases between August 2012 and July 2015, leaving UNMIL’s military strength at approximately 3,750 personnel, by July 2015, subject to and consistent with conditions in the area of operations, and in that respect, authorizes the Secretary-General to implement the second phase reducing the military component by 1,129 personnel between October 2013 and September 2014;

5. Decides to maintain the current authorized strength of UNMIL’s police component at 1,795 personnel, including 10 formed police units;

6. Emphasizes that future reconfigurations of UNMIL should be determined on the basis of the evolution of the situation on the ground and on the achievement of an improved capacity of the Government of Liberia to effectively protect the population through the establishment of sustainable and effective security forces and by reform of the justice sector, including courts and prisons, with a view to progressively take over UNMIL’s security role;

7. Encourages the Government of Liberia and UNMIL to accelerate progress in the transition planning process and to identify and address the critical gaps to facilitate a successful transition, including by prioritizing tasks, to include promotion of human rights and reconciliation, assessment of security challenges inclusive of the border, strengthening of democratic institutions and extension of state authority and services throughout the country, requests the Secretary-General to conduct an analysis focused on identifying the comparative advantages of UNMIL and the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) and to report to the Security Council in his final report on its findings and expresses its intention to request the Secretary-General to deploy a technical assessment mission to Liberia by the end of 2014, soon after the conclusion of the October 2014 senatorial elections, that should focus on the security transition, including detailed options and timelines for the further transition of UNMIL after it completes its current reconfiguration by July 2015 and to report to the Security Council no later than March 2015 on its findings;

8. Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that UNMIL has the requisite qualified specialist advisers with the professional skills and experience appropriate to this transition phase in order to enhance mentoring with the aim of increasing the capacity of the Government, particularly the LNP, to accelerate the implementation of sustainable rule of law, justice, governance and SSR programmes, including mechanisms to hold perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence accountable;

9. Emphasizes that long-term stability will require the Government of Liberia to develop and sustain a self-sufficient, capable, and competent security sector to build the confidence of all Liberians, and in this regard, calls uponUNMIL, consistent with its mandate, to continue to make the appropriate internal adjustments and, at the request of the Government of Liberia, to support the people and the Government in advancing the identified priorities, including national reconciliation, constitutional reform, and decentralization while enhancing its support for security sector and rule of law reforms and encourages the Government of Liberia to enhance the respect for human rights, the professionalism, and the effective oversight and accountability of its security sector and to intensify its efforts to further national reconciliation;

10. Expresses its concern that women and girls in Liberia continue to face a high incidence of sexual and gender-based violence, reiterates its call on the Government of Liberia to continue to combat sexual violence, particularly against children, and gender-based violence, and in coordination with UNMIL, to continue to combat impunity for perpetrators of such crimes and to provide redress, support, and protection to victims, including through public information campaigns and by continuing to strengthen national police capacity in this area and to raise awareness of existing national legislation on sexual violence and encourages the Government of Liberia to reinforce its commitment in this regard, including by funding the implementation of its national action plan on sexual and gender-based violence and improving women’s and girls’ access to justice;

11. Encourages UNMIL to continue to ensure regular interaction with the civilian population to raise awareness and understanding of its mandate and activities, within existing capabilities;

12. Calls on the Government of Liberia, with support from UNMIL, within existing capabilities, the UNCT and international partners, to continue to support the participation of women in conflict prevention, conflict resolution and peacebuilding, including in decision-making roles in post-conflict governance institutions and the broad range of reform efforts;

13. Calls on the Governments of Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia, including with the support of UNOCI and UNMIL and the two United Nations country teams, to further enhance their cooperation, particularly with respect to the border area, including through increasing monitoring, information sharing, and conducting coordinated actions, and in developing and implementing a shared border strategy to inter alia support the disarmament and repatriation of foreign armed elements on both sides of the border and the voluntary return of refugees in safety and dignity;

14. Reaffirms the inter-mission cooperation arrangements provided for in its resolutions 1609 (2005) and 2100 (2013), consistent with the conditions outlined therein, and calls upon the United Nations in Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia, including all components of UNOCI and UNMIL, within their respective mandates, capabilities and areas of deployment, to enhance their inter mission cooperation for the stabilization of the border area, including through the development of a shared, strategic vision and plan, in support of the Ivorian and Liberian authorities;

15. Takes note of the transfer of three armed helicopters from UNMIL to UNOCI, to be used in both Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia, along and across their border, and the transfer of four armoured personnel carriers and affirms the importance of inter-mission cooperation arrangements as UNMIL and UNOCI downsize;

16. Calls upon the donor community to continue to support the Government of Liberia, as well as the relevant United Nations agencies and other humanitarian actors, as appropriate, in their response to the Ivorian refugees still present in Liberia;

17. Emphasizes the need for coherence between, and integration of, peacekeeping, peacebuilding, and development to achieve an effective response to post-conflict situations, requests the Secretary-General, in conjunction with the UNCT and international partners, to continue to coordinate and collaborate with the PBC, calls for the continued development and timely completion of the justice and security hubs, taking into account lessons learned with requisite full staffing to make these hubs fully operational, to contribute to improved access to justice and security services throughout Liberia and encourages the PBC, following close consultation with the Government of Liberia, to continue to report on the findings of its missions and its recommendations on how it can accelerate progress on SSR, rule of law and national reconciliation;

18. Underscores the importance that the military concept of operations and rules of engagement be regularly updated and be fully in line with the provisions of this resolution and requests the Secretary-General to report on them to the Security Council and troop-contributing countries;

19. Further underscores the importance for the Government of Liberia, in coordination with UNMIL, the UNCT and international partners, to continue to develop national security and rule of law institutions that are fully and independently operational, and to this end encourages accelerated coordinated progress on the development and implementation of the Security and Justice Development Plans and the National Human Rights Action Plan and further encourages the effective and efficient management of assistance, including from bilateral and multilateral partners, to support the efforts of the Government to reform the justice and security sectors;

20. Encourages ECOWAS and the MRU to develop, with the support of UNOWA, and with the assistance of UNOCI and UNMIL, as appropriate, a subregional strategy to address the threat of the cross-border movement of armed groups and weapons and illicit trafficking and requests the Secretary-General to provide regular updates on progress towards the development of such a subregional strategy;

21. Requests the Secretary-General to keep it regularly informed of the situation on the ground as UNMIL continues its reconfiguration, progress towards achieving the transitional benchmarks, refinement of a transition plan with the Government of Liberia, inclusive of the priority elements in paragraphs 3, 7, 8, 9 above, and the inter-mission cooperation arrangements between UNMIL and UNOCI, and to provide to it a midterm report no later than 28 February 2014 and a final report no later than 15 August 2014 on the implementation of this resolution;

22. Decides to remain seized of the matter.

Adopted by the Security Council at its 7033rd meeting, on 18 September 2013.