WRITTEN BY UNITED NATIONS
SECURITY COUNCIL
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Source: Frontpage Africa
The Security Council,
PP1. Recalling its resolutions and statements by its
President concerning the situation in Liberia and the sub-region, in particular
its resolutions 2008 (2011), 1971 (2011), 1938 (2010), 1885 (2009), 1836
(2008), and 1509 (2003),
PP2. Welcoming the Secretary-General’s report of 12
April 2012 (S/2012/230) and taking note of its recommendations andalso
welcoming the Secretary-General’s report of 15 August 2012 (S/2012/641),
PP3. Commending the people and Government of Liberia
for holding a national referendum, presidential and legislative elections in
2011, and recognizing the support provided by the United Nations Mission in
Liberia (UNMIL) to achieve them,
PP4. Commending the Government of Liberia for signing
the Table Mountain Declaration, and encouraging the Government to advance free
press and free expression,
PP5. Expressing appreciation for the assistance
provided by both the Government and the Liberian people to the Ivoirian
refugees that have relocated temporarily in eastern Liberia,
PP6. Welcoming the Peacebuilding Commission’s
contribution to security sector reform, rule of law, and national
reconciliation,
PP7. Encouraging the efforts to ensure adequate human
rights presence, capacity, and expertise within UNMIL to carry out human rights
promotion, protection, and monitoring activities,
PP8. Calling on the Government of Liberia to continue
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 in
effectively managing Liberia’s natural resources, and noting with concern the
continued slow progress on the important issue of land reform,
PP9. 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,
PP10. Recalling its resolutions 1325 (2000), 1820
(2008), 1888 (2009), 1889 (2009), and 1960 (2010) on women, peace, and
security, concerned about the continuing high incidence of sexual and
gender-based violence, calling for renewed efforts by the Government of Liberia
in coordination with UNMIL to promote and protect the rights of civilians, in
particular women and children, and reaffirming the importance of appropriate
gender expertise and training in missions mandated by the Security Council,
PP11. Noting that UNMIL’s mandate includes assisting
the Government of Liberia to consolidate peace and stability, with national
institutions that are able to maintain security independently of a peacekeeping
mission to ensure the future stability of Liberia; recalling the transition
benchmarks for the drawdown phase of UNMIL, including the implementation of
core benchmarks for the Liberia National Police and implementation of the
national security strategy,
PP12. Urgingintensified effort by the Government of
Liberia 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 Liberia National Police and the Bureau of
Immigration and Naturalization,
PP13. Noting that the Government of Liberia has the
primary responsibility to reform the security sector, and calling on the
Government to cooperate fully and work with UNMIL to demonstrate substantive
progress in the reform and restructuring of the justice sector,
PP14. Recognizing the significant challenges that
remain across all sectors, including continuing problems with violent crime,
and recognizing that the instability in Côte d’Ivoire continues to pose
cross-border security challenges for Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire,
PP15. Commending the work of 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, and noting with satisfaction the increasing cooperation between
UNMIL and the United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI), as well as the
neighbouring Governments, in coordinating security and judicial activities in
the border areas in the sub-region,
PP16. Noting with concern the cross-border threats to
sub-regional stability, including to Liberia, in particular threats posed by
illicit drug trafficking, organized crime, and illicit arms,
PP17. Expressing its appreciation to the international
community, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African
Union (AU), and the United Nations Office for West Africa (UNOWA), for their
continuing support to consolidate peace, security and stability in Liberia and
the region,
PP18. Welcoming the efforts of the Secretary-General
to keep all peacekeeping operations, including UNMIL, under close review and
reiterating the need for the Council to pursue a rigorous, strategic approach
to peacekeeping deployments,
PP19. Determining that the situation in Liberia
continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security in the
region,
PP20. Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the
United Nations,
1. Decides that the mandate of UNMIL shall be extended
until 30 September 2013;
2. Emphasizes that the Government of Liberia bears
primary and ultimate responsibility for security and, recognizing that the
Government must prioritize in order to best utilize its available resources,
decides 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
Liberia National Police (LNP) by strengthening the LNP’s capabilities to manage
existing personnel, improve training programs 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;
3. Encourages the Government of Liberia and UNMIL to
continue to make progress in the transition planning process and address the
critical gaps that need to be filled in order to facilitate a successful
transition, including by prioritizing tasks, to include promotion of human
rights and reconciliation, assess security challenges inclusive of the border,
strengthen democratic institutions and extend state authority and services
throughout the country;
4. Endorses the Secretary-General’s recommendation,
contained in the report S/2012/230, that UNMIL’s current military strength of
seven infantry battalions shall decrease by four infantry battalions and
related enablers, totaling approximately 4,200 personnel, in three phases
between September 2012 and July 2015, subject to and consistent with conditions
in the area of operations, leaving UNMIL’s military strength at three infantry
battalions and related enablers, totaling approximately 3,750 personnel, by
July 2015, and in that respect authorizes the Secretary-General to implement
the first phase reducing the military component by 1,990 personnel between
October 2012 and September 2013;
5. Further decides to increase the number of UNMIL’s
authorized formed police units by three additional units, totaling 420
personnel, from its current strength of seven formed police units, totaling
1,375 personnel, for a new authorized ceiling of 1,795 personnel, and further
decides that such additional units shall be deployed to Liberia as soon as
available, with the first unit deploying no later than January 2013;
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 with a view to progressively take
over UNMIL’s security role;
7. Recognizes that this transition will require
qualified specialist advisors to assist and support the SRSG in working with
the Government of Liberia to meet transition goals, and requeststhe
Secretary-General to ensure that UNMIL has the requisite qualified specialist
advisors who have the experience and professional skills appropriate to this
transition phase in order to enhance mentoring in priority areas, as outlined
in the Secretary-General’s report S/2012/230; and requests that such qualified
specialist advisors be made available to the SRSG to fill gaps that might exist
in meeting the goal of increasing the capacity of the Government of Liberia,
particularly the LNP, to implement sustainable rule of law, justice, governance
and SSR programs, including mechanisms to hold perpetrators of sexual and
gender-based violence accountable;
8. Emphasizes that in order to be sustainable, the
transition planning process should take into account broad challenges,
including governance and the rule of law as well as the political context, and
calls on UNMIL to make the appropriate internal adjustments and, at the request
of the Government of Liberia, and consistent with its mandate, support the
people and the Government of Liberia in taking forward the identified
priorities, including national reconciliation, constitutional reform and
decentralization, while enhancing its support for security sector and rule of
law reforms;
9. Reiterates its calls on the Government of Liberia
to continue to combat sexual 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;
10. Encourages UNMIL to ensure regular interaction
with the civilian population to raise awareness and understanding about its
mandate and activities, within existing resources;
11. Requests UNMIL 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, appointed and elected in Liberia, within existing resources;
12. Calls upon the Governments of Côte d’Ivoire and
Liberia to continue to 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;
13. 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 support for
the stabilization of the border area, including through their increased
cooperation and the development of a shared, strategic vision and plan, in
support of the Ivoirian and Liberian authorities;
14. Takes note of the endorsement, in its resolution
2062 (2012), of the Secretary-General’s recommendation to transfer the three
armed helicopters, currently deployed in UNMIL, to UNOCI, to be used in both
Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia along and across their border;
15. Calls upon the donor community to support the
Government of Liberia, as well as the United Nations, and other humanitarian
actors, as appropriate, in their response to the Ivoirian refugees still
present in Liberia;
16. Emphasizes the need for coherence between, and
integration of, peacekeeping, peacebuilding, and development to achieve an
effective response to post-conflict situations, requests that the
Secretary-General, in conjunction with the United Nations Country Team and
international partners, to continue to coordinate and collaborate with the
Peacebuilding Commission (PBC), and calls for the timely completion of the
justice and security hubs, 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 security
sector reform, rule of law, and national reconciliation;
17. 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;
18. Further underscores the importance for the
Government of Liberia, in coordination with UNMIL, the United Nations Country
Team and international partners, to continue to develop national security and
rule of law institutions that are fully and independently operational, and to
this end continues to encourage coordinated progress on the implementation of
the Security and Justice Development Plans and the National Human Rights Action
Plan;
19. Encourages ECOWAS and the Mano River Union to
continue to develop, with the support of UNOWA, a sub-regional strategy to
address the threat of the cross-border movements of armed groups and weapons as
well as illicit trafficking, with the assistance of UNOCI and UNMIL, as
appropriate, and provide regular updates on progress towards the development of
such a sub-regional strategy in the upcoming relevant reports of the
Secretary-General;
20. Further 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, and
development of a transition plan with the Government of Liberia, inclusive of
priority elements cited in paragraphs 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8, and to provide to it a
midterm report no later than 28 February 2013 and a final report no later than
15 August 2013 on the situation on the ground and the implementation of this
resolution;
21. Decides to remain seized of the matter.
