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Liberia: Ban Asked to Address Abuses in Liberia, Ivory Coast
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The NEWS (Monrovia)
23 April 2008
Posted to the web 23 April 2008
Monrovia
A leading human rights watchdog has urged UN Chief Ban Ki-moon to push for the prosecution of alleged war criminals who abused the rights of people during civil wars in Liberia and La Cote d'Ivoire.
The New York-based human rights watch called on the UN Secretary General to take "meaningful and concrete steps" to ensure that the authorities in both countries move "from rhetoric to action" in pursuing people accused of major human rights abuses.
Mr. Ban ended a two-day visit to Liberia Tuesday and is expected to arrive in Ivory Coast Wednesday in a bid to consolidate peace in the two West African countries which are emerging from civil wars.
The United Nations has major peacekeeping missions in both countries, although peacekeepers in Liberia are accelerating their pullout following disarmament and demobilization of fighters, despite an April UN report criticizing the country as riddled with corruption and poverty.
In the case of Liberia, Human Rights Watch expressed regret that those responsible for the worst crimes during the conflict have yet to be detained and tried, although the country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission has begun a process of documenting violations and healing following 14 years of war.
"There appears to be no national strategy and little discussion by Liberian or international actors for holding perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity into account," the New York-based rights monitor said.
In the case of Ivory Coast, the group criticized the international community for focusing too narrowly on upcoming presidential elections at the expense of resolving the issue of the apparent impunity for human rights violations.
Meanwhile, the UN Chief says he remains committed to helping Liberia recover from civil war, as the UN's peacekeeping mission started pulling out.
"I am here to express my strong support and the commitment of the United Nations to help the Liberian government and people overcome their political, social and economic challenges," he said on radio during a visit to Monrovia.
In answer to a question regarding the current worldwide rise in food prices, Mr. Ban said, "I am establishing a taskforce of eminent persons and experts to see how to tackle this particular issue urgently".
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The Secretary-General, accompanied by his wife, Mrs. Ban Soon-taek, and a delegation of senior UN officials, arrived in Monrovia on Monday evening from Accra, Ghana, where he had addressed the 12th UN Conference on Trade and Development.
The visit comes as the UN Mission in Liberia considers a drawdown plan. The UN and the Liberian government have agreed that by September 30, 2008, some 2,450 troops are expected to withdraw from Liberia. This will reduce the UN's military presence in the country to just under 11,700 personnel.
The UN sent 15,000 troops into Liberia in 2003 after the end of 14 years of civil war that claimed roughly 270,000 lives.
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