-------------------------------------------------------------------------

17 Apr 96—

Human Rights Watch/Africa, a nongovernmental human rights organization, condemns human rights abuses by all the warring factions in Liberia and calls upon the West African peacekeeping force, ECOMOG, to make the protection of the civilian population a clear priority. Specifically, Human Rights Watch/Africa calls on ECOMOG to deploy to areas where large numbers of displaced persons have congregated, including the Graystone compound where 15,000-20,000 civilians have gathered and other sites around Monrovia including hospitals and relief warehouses where civilians have sought refuge. Without protection, these civilians are vulnerable to attack from the warring factions that are rampaging around Monrovia. Human Rights Watch/Africa also calls on the Krahn-based factions at the Barclay Training Center to release all civilians and ECOMOG soldiers being held hostage, noting that using civilians and captured soldiers as human shields is a clear violation of international law.

The specter of the country degenerating into a Somalia-like situation, with armed factions killing and looting with impunity, looms large in Liberia,” according to Janet Fleischman, Washington Director of Human Rights Watch/Africa. It is imperative that the West African peacekeeping force provide protection to the key locations around Monrovia where thousands of displaced civilians have assembled so as to prevent the kind of wholesale slaughter of civilians that has characterized the Liberian war in the past.” One of the hallmarks of the Liberian war has been the proliferation of armed factions, all of which targeted civilians and were responsible for systematic human rights abuses, and none of which was fighting for any recognizable cause or ideology. The war has also been characterized by the extensive use of child soldiers, boys younger than 15 years old who were easy prey for all the factions. The massive displacement of the civilian population has been another tragic aspect of the war, leading to some 750,000 refugees and one million internally displaced, out of a pre-war population of some 2.5 million. Finally, the Liberian war has been carried out in a climate of utter impunity, with no one held accountable for the crimes committed against the Liberian people. The lack of protection for civilians from abuses by all sides and the profound distrust among the warring factions have been obstacles to lasting peace.

In August 1995, a new peace agreement was signed in Abuja, amending and supplementing the Cotonou (1993) and Akosombo (1994) accords, which included all the warring factions and provided for a new cease-fire. This latest peace agreement seemed to be Liberia’s last, best hope. The apparent commitment of the warring factions to disarmament, demobilization and the deployment throughout the country of ECOMOG and UN personnel brought the hope that the rule of the gun would finally come to an end, and respect for the human rights of all Liberians would become a reality. Since the latest round of fighting broke out on April 6, ECOMOG has not attempted to stop either the attacks by the warring factions against the civilian population or the fighting between the warring factions, notably the assault by the forces of Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL) and Alhadji Kromah’s United Liberation Movement for Democracy in Liberia (ULIMO-K) against the Krahn-based factions operating out of the Barclay Training Center barracks — Roosevelt Johnson’s ULIMO-J, the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL), and the Liberian Peace Council (LPC). Due in part to the lack of resources and to the refusal of the warring factions to abide by the terms of the Abuja peace accord, ECOMOG has not implemented its mandate to supervise the encampment and disarmament of all the warring factions. ECOMOG was also mandated to monitor all entry points into Liberia and to facilitate the establishment of safe havens and buffer zones throughout Liberia. According to Section G, Article 8 of the September 1994 Akosombo agreement, ECOMOG has the following peace enforcement powers: “That in the event any party, new armed group or splinter group and/or individuals refuse to desist from acts in violation of the Agreement, the Liberia National Transitional Government, in collaboration with ECOMOG, shall have the power to use the necessary force to compel compliance.”

ECOMOG intervened in Liberia in August 1990, at the height of the fighting and destruction of Monrovia. The intervention was organized under the auspices of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), and the force was known as the Economic Community Cease-Fire Monitoring Group (ECOMOG). Human rights benefits have flowed from ECOMOG’s presence in Liberia and especially in Monrovia, although human rights protection and promotion has never been an integral part of ECOMOG’s mandate and its reputation has been tarnished by its support for various warring factions. ECOMOG has not integrated human rights protection and promotion into its activities, and this has proved to be a serious shortcoming.

In September 1993, the United Nations Security Council created a U.N. Observer Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL) to help supervise and monitor the Cotonou peace agreement, in conjunction with ECOMOG. On February 1, UNOMIL’s mandate in Liberia was extended until May 31, 1996. UNOMIL has a mandate to report on violations of the cease-fire and violations of humanitarian law, but since its creation in September 1993, it has not reported publicly about the situations it has monitored. UNOMIL should also monitor the ECOMOG mission, since the two are supposed to deploy together and the conduct of ECOMOG contingents will require scrutiny.

Recommendations

— ECOMOG should deploy immediately in areas of Monrovia where displaced persons have gathered in order to protect those civilians. In particular, peacekeepers should target the Graystone Compound, hospitals, and relief warehouses around the city where displaced civilians have gathered.

— The remaining UNOMIL observers should deploy with ECOMOG and report on violations of human rights and humanitarian law, as it is mandated to do.

— All the warring factions should immediately end their attacks on the civilian population, including extrajudicial executions, rapes, and looting.

— The factions at the Barclay Training Center should immediately release their hostages and cease using civilians and captured soldiers as human shields.

— The NPFL and ULIMO-K should halt their attack on the Barclay Training Center.

Human Rights Watch/Africa

Human Rights Watch is a nongovernmental organization established in 1978 to monitor and promote the observance of internationally recognized human rights in Africa, the Americas, Asia, the Middle East and among the signatories of the Helsinki accords. It is supported by contributions from private individuals and foundations worldwide. Kenneth Roth is the Executive Director and Robert L. Bernstein is the Chair of the Board. Its Africa division was established in 1988 to monitor and promote the observance of internationally recognized human rights in sub-Saharan Africa. Peter Takirambudde is the executive director; Janet Fleischman is the Washington director; Suliman Ali Baldo is the senior researcher; Bronwen Manby and Alex Vines are research associates; Kimberly Mazyck and Lenee Simon are associates; Alison DesForges is consultant. William Carmichael is the chair of the advisory committee and Alice Brown is the vice chair.

Human Rights Watch 485 Fifth Avenue New York, NY 10017-6104 TEL: 212/972-8400 FAX: 212/972-0905 E-mail: hrwnyc@hrw.org

1522 K Street, N.W. Washington D.C. 20005 TEL: 202/371-6592 FAX: 202/371-0124 E-mail: hrwdc@hrw.org