Transaction Search Form: please type in any of the fields below.
Date: April 25, 2024 Thu
Time: 9:19 pm
liberia
Time: 9:19 pm
liberia
Results for liberia
40 total results foundAuthor: Gompert, David C. Title: Oversight of the Liberian National Police Summary: The Liberian National Police (LNP) will become the chief provider of security in Liberia as the United Nations Mission in Liberia is reduced. Given the LNP's capabilities and complexity, its past manipulation by former President Charles Taylor, and a pattern of police misconduct in much of Africa, the question of oversight is critical. To examine how best to design the LNP oversight construct, the authors evaluate the likely effectiveness of different oversight options against three criteria — manageability, permanent professionalism, and public confidence — and study police oversight concepts used in other African countries. They conclude that Liberia needs a mixed (i.e., government-independent) LNP oversight system with a broad mandate for enhancing police professionalism and gaining the confidence of the public. Such a system should be clear, relatively simple, manageable, and comprehensible to the Liberian people, and it should complement and strengthen both the government's normal management of the LNP and the LNP's ability to operate. The authors recommend the creation of a government-chaired, mixed-membership, multi-tiered system with the authority and competence to evaluate police policy and performance and to make associated recommendations. Accordingly, the authors recommend the creation of a high-level policy body (the LNP Policy Council) and a subordinate body (the LNP Investigative Council) to investigate individual allegations of police abuse and look for patterns of such behavior within different parts of police agencies. They also recommend that the groundwork should be laid for the eventual creation of local police forums to promote local connectivity and confidence. Details: Santa Monica, CA: RAND, 2009. 36p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 22, 2011 at: http://www.rand.org/content/dam/rand/pubs/occasional_papers/2009/RAND_OP230.pdf Year: 2009 Country: Liberia Keywords: Police (Liberia) Shelf Number: 120840 |
Author: Esfahani, Asal Title: Countering Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Liberia Summary: More than three years after former president Charles Taylor relinquished power ending a 14 year bloody civil war, Liberia is at a pivotal point of transitioning from a post-conflict emergency setting towards reconstruction and development. However, the alarmingly high incidence of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) of the most vulnerable populations in Liberia poses a significant threat to the success of development efforts. SEA perpetuates subsistence behavior and renders victims utterly dependent on others for their survival; it increases unwanted pregnancy and school drop-out rates, facilitates the spread of HIV/AIDS and other STDs and perpetuates societal trauma. Consequently, the government of Liberia, in collaboration with UN agencies, international and local NGOs and Liberian citizens has launched a nation-wide awareness-raising campaign against SEA, and many organizations are currently working to sensitize the mass population in order to counter widespread tolerance of this harmful practice. However, the cycle of abuse and exploitation of vulnerable groups persists at every level of Liberian society. This paper presents an exploratory study of the current state of SEA in Liberia. Our research seeks to determine the causes of SEA in Liberia, evaluate current responses to the problem and identify gaps in existing mechanisms to alleviate the problem. While sexual exploitation and abuse occurs throughout the world and at all levels of society, it is most prevalent in countries affected by poverty and conflict. In line with this, this paper proposes three root causes of SEA in Liberia: poverty, societal trauma and unregulated power differentials. Details: Washington, DC: George Washington University, 2007. 45p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 24, 2011 at: http://www.gwu.edu/~oid/Capstone/2007%20Capstone/Countering%20Sexual%20Exploitation-Liberia.pdf Year: 2007 Country: Liberia Keywords: Sexual Abuse Shelf Number: 120871 |
Author: PSEA In Country Network - Liberia Title: Prevention and Response to Sexual Exploitation and Abuse in Liberia: A Case Study Summary: In an effort to combat Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (SEA), the United Nations in Liberia has taken measures to prevent, report, and investigate SEA cases, and to impose sanctions against the perpetrators. One such measure was the development of the In-Country Network (ICN). The ICN is a network of representatives from the United Nations and international NGOs that serves as the primary body for coordination and oversight on prevention and response to SEA among the humanitarian community. Since its establishment in 2005, the ICN in Liberia has taken steps to ensure enhanced accountability, coordination, and communication relating to the prevention and response to cases of SEA by personnel working for the UN, its affiliated partners, international NGOs and other humanitarian assistance workers. Working in close collaboration with the government of Liberia and local partners, the ICN in Liberia has enjoyed a significant level of success in setting up mechanisms to implement international standards and policies relating to the prevention of SEA, not the least of which are the Secretary General’s Bulletin on Special Measures for Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse ST/SGB/2003/13 and the Statement of Commitment on Eliminating Sexual Exploitation and Abuse by UN and Non-UN Personnel. The innovative approach taken in Liberia is a result of several enabling factors such as the country’s relatively small size and population, the Government's prioritization of the issue, a strong UN presence, and the large local and international civil society presence. Despite some of the specific conditions of the Liberian context, the Liberia approach to prevention and response to SEA can be adapted to other post-conflict and development settings. This case study highlights several areas of good practice that can be replicated. Details: Monrovia, Liberia: PSEA In Country Network - Liberia, 2008. 48p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed February 24, 2011 at: http://www.un.org/en/pseataskforce/docs/prevention_and_response_to_sexual_exploitation_and_buse_in_l.pdf Year: 2008 Country: Liberia Keywords: Sexual Abuse Shelf Number: 120872 |
Author: Amnesty International Title: Good Intentions are Not Enough: The Struggle to Reform Liberia's Prisons Summary: Liberia’s government, still struggling to rebuild the country after a 14-year internal armed conflict, has stated its determination to improve the prison system. However, conditions in Liberia’s prisons are so poor that they violate basic human rights. Prison inmates are crowded into dark, dirty cells, without adequate food, sanitation or health care. Some suffer permanent damage to their physical or mental health as a result. Most have not been convicted of any crime. The vast majority are people living in poverty, without access to lawyers and with few financial resources. Details: London: Amnesty International, 2011. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed September 23, 2011 at: http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AFR34/001/2011/en Year: 2011 Country: Liberia Keywords: Correctional Institutions Shelf Number: 122808 |
Author: Gilgen, Elisabeth Title: A Legacy of War? Perceptions of Security in Liberia Summary: A Legacy of War? Perceptions of Security in Liberia — explores the general security perceptions and particular safety concerns of Liberians in 2009 and 2010. Its key findings include that respondents rate development concerns higher than safety concerns, with four-fifths of all responses raising concerns about access to clean water, health care, transportation, and education. The survey also found that most respondents believe safety conditions in mid-2010 had improved over the previous year, and around 70 per cent describe their own neighbourhood or community as ‘safe’ or ‘very safe’. Details: Geneva: Liberia Armed Violence Assessment, Small Arms Survey, 2011. 16p. Source: Internet Resource: Small Arms Survey Issue Brief No. 1: Accessed November 1, 2011 at: http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/G-Issue-briefs/Liberia-AVA-IB1.pdf Year: 2011 Country: Liberia Keywords: Crime (Liberia) Shelf Number: 123195 |
Author: Dziewanski, Dariusz Title: Peace without Security: Violence against Women and Girls in Liberia Summary: Violence against women and girls—which was a widespread and sinister feature of atrocities committed during Liberia’s 14 years of civil conflict—has long been a serious problem in the country, both prior to the hostilities and since. Peace without Security: Violence against Women and Girls in Liberia is a new Issue Brief from the Small Arms Survey’s Liberia Armed Violence Assessment project, jointly produced with the Norwegian Refugee Council. The report first examines the extent to which women and girls in Liberia are victims of crimes and violence in general, and then focuses specifically on the patterns and characteristics of sexual and domestic violence. The analysis is based on the results of a nationwide household survey conducted by the Small Arms Survey, in collaboration with Action on Armed Violence and the Liberian Institute of Statistics and Geo-Information Services, complemented by data from other information sources, notably the Ministry of Gender and Development’s GBV database, set up and managed with Norwegian Refugee Council support. Details: Geneva, Switzerland: Small Arms Survey, 2012. 16p. Source: Liberia Armed Violence Assessment, Issue Brief No. 3: Internet Resource: Accessed September 24, 2012 at http://www.smallarmssurvey.org/fileadmin/docs/G-Issue-briefs/Liberia-AVA-IB3.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Liberia Keywords: Domestic Violence (Liberia) Shelf Number: 126418 |
Author: Verité Title: Rubber Production in Liberia: An Exploratory Assessment of Living and Working Conditions, with Special Attention to Forced Labor Summary: With support from the U.S. Department of Labor, Verité carried out research on labor conditions in the supply chains of ten goods in seven countries from 2009 through 2011. Research was carried out on the production of shrimp in Bangladesh; Brazil-nuts, cattle, corn, and peanuts in Bolivia; sugar in the Dominican Republic; coffee in Guatemala; fish in Indonesia; rubber in Liberia; and tuna in the Philippines. The following report is based on research on living and working conditions in the rubber sector of Liberia, with special attention to indicators of forced labor. Since the establishment of the Firestone plantation in 1926, rubber has been the cornerstone of the Liberian economy; even in post-conflict Liberia, this commodity remains the country‟s most important cash crop.1 Rubber trees are cultivated on large company-owned plantations, where workers collect rubber year-round for a fixed salary; and also on small-scale farms that belong to households and individuals. This report focuses on rubber cultivated on large-scale commercial plantations that are not part of the Bridgestone/Firestone complex. Rubber has a long and controversial history in Liberia. Observers largely agree that the sector has served as a much-needed generator of state revenues and a creator of formal, salaried employment in a country with a largely subsistence agricultural economy. However, there has been persistent concern and tension around the terms of the contracts signed between the Liberian state and rubber companies, on the one hand, and the living and working conditions on Liberian plantations, on the other. It was determined that Verité‟s research in Liberia should be an exploratory study with flexible research objectives, which evolved into a study of current-day living and working conditions, with special attention to indicators of forced labor, on two Liberian rubber plantations: (1) the Liberian Agricultural Company‟s (LAC) plantation in Grand Bassa County; and (2) the Cocopa Rubber Company‟s plantation in Nimba County. The ILO‟s core labor conventions and Liberian labor law served as the framework for the study. Details: Amherst, MA: Verité , 2012(?). Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 23, 2013 at: http://www.verite.org/sites/default/files/images/Research%20on%20Working%20Conditions%20in%20the%20Liberia%20Rubber%20Sector__9.16.pdf Year: 2012 Country: Liberia Keywords: Forced Labor (Liberia) Shelf Number: 128092 |
Author: Blattman, Christopher Title: Can Employment Reduce Lawlessness and Rebellion? A Field Experiment with High-Risk Youth in a Fragile State Summary: We evaluate an agricultural training and inputs program for high-risk Liberian men, mainly ex-fighters engaged in illegal resource extraction with opportunities for mercenary work. We show that economic incentives, including increased farm productivity, raised the opportunity cost of illicit work. After 14 months, treated men shifted hours of illicit resource extraction to agriculture by 20%. When a war erupted nearby, they were also less likely to engage in mercenary recruitment. Finally, exogenous variation in expected future capital transfers appears to be a further deterrent to mercenary work. We see no evidence the program affected occupational choice through peers or preferences. Details: New York: Columbia University, School of International and Public Affairs, 2014. 69p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed May 10, 2014 at: http://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2431293 Year: 2014 Country: Liberia Keywords: At-risk Youth Shelf Number: 132317 |
Author: Human Rights Watch Title: "No Money, No Justice": Police Corruption and Abuse in Liberia Summary: Police corruption in Liberia undermines access to justice, results in human rights violations, and compromises the establishment of the rule of law in this post-conflict country. Liberian victims of crimes must pay authorities at every stage of a case investigation. Because of the prevalence of police corruption, "justice is not for the poor" is a catchphrase of many Liberians who say wealth, not guilt, often determines the outcome of criminal cases. "No Money, No Justice": Police Corruption and Abuse in Liberia documents the impact of police corruption on the administration of justice. Motorcycle taxi drivers, street sellers, and taxi drivers - whose work keeps them on the streets - are particularly vulnerable to bribery demands from the police. Police officers often arbitrarily arrest and detain and rob these workers, who typically live in poverty. Liberian police officers themselves face numerous challenges in performing their jobs. They lack essential resources, such as fuel for vehicles, and work long hours for low salaries. Commanders pressure their subordinates to make payments up the chain of command, particularly in exchange for promotion. The post-war United Nations presence in Liberia has helped reduce the incidence of torture in detention, but has not made inroads on corruption and abuses connected with extortion. To strengthen respect for basic rights and the rule of law in Liberia, Human Rights Watch calls on the Liberian government to bolster police accountability mechanisms and fulfill its promise of establishing an independent oversight board for the police. In addition, the government and foreign donors should investigate persistent logistics shortfalls that contribute to police officers preying upon the public for material support. Finally, government officials in Liberia should emphasize accountability and good governance in the security sector as essential to the country's promised post-conflict development. Details: New York: HRW, 2013. 74p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed August 23, 2014 at: http://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/reports/liberia0813_forUpload_0.pdf Year: 2013 Country: Liberia Keywords: Human Rights Abuses Shelf Number: 129901 |
Author: Global Witness Title: Catch me if you can: Exxon's complicity in Liberian oil sector corruption and how its Washington lobbyists fight to keep oil deals secret Summary: This is a story of bribery, suspected secret shareholders, and an audacious attempt by oil giant Exxon to bypass US anti-corruption laws. It is a story of how the American company - headed by Rex Tillerson - appears to have turned a blind eye to earlier corruption when buying an oil license in the impoverished West African country of Liberia. Finally, this is a story of how the US can help end corruption by requiring that oil companies report in detail what they pay to governments. Our key findings include evidence that Exxon: Knew its purchase might enrich former Liberian politicians who were likely behind the block Structured the deal in a way it hoped would bypass US anti-corruption laws Knew Liberia's corrupt oil agency had previously bribed officials to approve oil deals, including the very block it wanted to buy But this isn't just a story about Exxon and Liberia. It's also about how Exxon - along with others in the oil industry - has repeatedly attacked the US anti-corruption and oil transparency law that makes it possible for us to uncover deals done in this notoriously corrupt and opaque oil and gas sector. Details: London: Global Witness, 2018. 38p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed March 29, 2018 at: Accessed March 29, 2018 at: https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/oil-gas-and-mining/catch-me-if-you-can-exxon-complicit-corrupt-liberian-oil-sector/ Year: 2018 Country: Liberia Keywords: Bribery Shelf Number: 149606 |
Author: Global Witness Title: Power to the People? How Companies are Exploiting Community Forestry in Liberia Summary: Liberia is seeing in a new age of progressive, community forestry that - if done right - has the potential to be an exemplary model for others to follow. But the community forestry permitting system is being hijacked by rapacious logging companies and a complicit Forestry Development Authority. Logging companies are enlisting local elites and coercing communities into signing secret agreements that grant them logging rights, in return for them financing the process communities are required to follow in order to obtain Authorised Forest Community status. The picture uncovered by Global Witness in this report looks very much like a re-run of the scandal that surrounded Private Use Permits - a system of forestry licences designed for small operators that was hijacked by large rapacious logging companies. Over 2.5 million hectares, or 23 percent of the land area of Liberia, was handed over illegally to loggers through these permits up until their cancellation by presidential decree in 2013. Our research also points to companies affiliated to the notorious Malaysian company, Samling Global, playing a leading role in prising control over Liberia's rich and diverse forest ecosystems, away from communities, and for themselves. It is perhaps no surprise that Samling-linked companies, which came in for some of the most severe criticism in the official investigation into Private Use Permits yet were never sanctioned, are coming back with a vengeance. It is imperative that the Liberian government and its international donors, notably Norway, now act to ensure large-scale loggers are not getting their hands on community forests for short-term profits. Details: London: Global Witness, 2018. 52p. Source: Internet Resource: Accessed October 22, 2018 at: https://www.globalwitness.org/en/campaigns/forests/power-people/ Year: 2018 Country: Liberia Keywords: Conservation Shelf Number: 153042 |