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Assessment of the political conditions for pro-democracy activitiesThe KAF Regional Office conducted a brief fact-finding mission to gain a better understanding of the political environment in Liberia. Among others, a meeting with a number of NGOs was organised by the newly formed "Coalition for Democracy in Liberia" (CODEL). Whereas in the countryside the population is still terrorised, in Monrovia the situation is under control thanks to the ECOWAS peace-keeping troops. [ » news update (newspaper articles) ] With the demise of Charles Taylor 11 August 2003, the warlord turned former president of Liberia (since 1997), the question arose, whether the KAF project "Promotion of Democracy in West Africa" (PBWA) should start activities with organisations of the civil society in that war torn country. Charles Taylor's presidency was characterised by its lack of democratic practices, accountability, and respect for human rights. With the selection of a Transitional Government, based on the Accra Peace Agreement of August 2003, and the subsequent appointment of a Chairman, the businessman Guyde Bryan, the transitional government became effective. The next step was the formation of a National Transitional Legislative Assembly (NTLA), which also includes members of the civil society e.g. members of the "Civil Society Movement of Liberia" (CSM-L). Based on these developments, the primarily answer to the question posed above was: Yes, the project should at least assess on the scene the possibility of activities for the promotion of democracy. [ » Infos ]Since the end of the 90ies, a number of NGOs in the field of human rights and democracy advocacy have come into being with the support of international organisations such as EU, UNDP, NDI/NED, USAID, Action Aid etc. During the KAF mission, the following topics have been identified, which need to be followed-up in more detail by a consultant. The measures aim at supporting, together with other international organisations, a peaceful transition to a democratically elected Liberian government that respects human rights and responds to the needs of the country's population.
Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea were once united by a regional treaty structure known as the Mano River Union (MRU). The MRU countries share many of the same ethnic groups, culture, language. The Taylor government supported the rebel Revolutionary United Front (RUF) in neighbouring Sierra Leone. Elements of the RUF began fighting in neighbouring Guinea in January 2001. Guinea responded by sponsoring its own band of terrorists, the Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD). Recently the Mano River Union war that originally encompassed Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea has now expanded east to Côte d'Ivoire. That country responding by financing a terrorist group called MODEL* (Movement for Democracy in Liberia). Amid the chaos in the region, it has often been unclear whose army is killing whom, but it is clear that all parties to the armed conflict have committed abuses against civilian population. It is therefore necessary to include the regional context in the support to achieve peace. The NGO consortium "Civil Society Movement - Liberia" (CSM-L) as part of the regional-wide apex, the Mano River Union Civil Society Movement (MRUCSM), could be the addressee of such support by an international organisation. * (not to be mistaken for the NGO "Movement for Democracy and Elections in Liberia" (MODEL)!)See for the regional aspects a write-up of the International Crisis Group: » The Eye of the Regional Storm
There is a newly formed coalition of civil society organisations, the "Coalition for Democracy in Liberia" (CODEL), planning election-related activities. Activities in this sector have already been supported by the NDI's passed programme in Liberia and NDI plans to assist Liberian NGO's with domestic election monitoring and voter education activities in the future, especially in view of the 2005 elections as foreseen in the Accra Peace Accord (see the link at the bottom of the page). According to CODEL's own profile, it plans the following activities and is composed of the following NGOs: "Ten civil, pro-democracy and human rights organizations in Liberia have formed a national consortium to work for free, fair, credible and transparency elections in Liberia.
The organizations also will engage in democratic advocacy, which include good governance, accountability and the rule of law as well as conducting civic/voters' education programmes, recruit, train and deploy trained volunteers to monitor and observe election and performance in government. The organizations are: Justice and Peace Commission (JPC), Liberia Civil and Human Rights AIIiance (LCHRA), Liberia democratic Institute (LDI), Liberia Democracy resource Center (LDRC), Liberia Institute of Public Opinion (LIPO), Liberia national Democracy Monitors (LINDEM), Liberian Women Initiative (LWI), Movement for Democracy and Elections In Liberia (MODEL), Press Union of Liberia (PUL), Women NGOs Secretariat (WONGOSOL), and Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia." It goes without saying that civic and voters' education programmes are the most urgent need at this point of time given the planned 2005 elections and taking into account the rigging of elections in 1997 (Taylor); election rigging has a long tradition, and in 1985 such rigged elections sanctioned Master Sergeant Doe's civilian status as president.
In view of the National Transitional Legislative Assembly (NTLA) it is necessary to address pervasive brain drain in Government, specifically helping legislators and other key functionaries identify and remedy official inadequacies in an effort to improve transparency, accountability and quality of work in official cycles This would also entail to strengthen legislator-constituency relations. This is what the NGO MODEL (Movement for Democracy and Elections in Liberia) plans to do and would be worthwhile to support.
There appear to be sufficient human resources in the country to implement the above mentioned programmes/projects. The NGOs would make use of these resources, since they are already well organised. However, the mission also revealed that some organisations of the civil society, if not all, need further institutional support, above all in financial management matters/accountability. The deficits in theses capacity building-related fields need to be further investigated by a consultant, using among others the SWOT methodology. |
 International Cooperation Regional Office Cotonou/Benin |
There is ample need for the supporting international organisations to cooperate and coordinate their activities in order to avoid double financing and competition. This is also in the interest of the recipients and would facilitate synergy effects. It is already clear that the demand in the electoral education field alone exceeds by far the supply of funds, if taking into account the outreach to the broad population. » » »The aim of this site is to contribute to the facilitation of such cooperation. A precondition is the updated availability of internet sites of the international organisations involved. A good example is the Liberia page of the NDI, which has benefited the author a lot. » NDI (National Democratic Institute for International Affairs). » E-mail-Feedback |