Liberia: Fighters Rape and Loot in Areas Lacking Peacekeepers

Liberia: Fighters Rape and Loot in Areas Lacking Peacekeepers

(New York, January 21, 2004) - Fighters who took part in Liberia's
armed conflict have been raping and looting civilians in areas that
lack international peacekeepers, despite a ceasefire and peace
agreement in the country, Human Rights Watch said today in a briefing
paper released ahead of a major international donors' conference on
Liberia in early February.

"Despite the peace accords, civilians in rural Liberia are still being
raped, looted and forced to work for fighters from all the warring
factions," said Peter Takirambudde, executive director of Human Rights
Watch's Africa division. "More peacekeepers are needed to stem the
violence and ensure that the disarmament program is successful."

The briefing paper describes the serious human rights abuses-including
looting, forced labor, rape and other forms of sexual violence-that
have occurred in recent months in areas controlled by former government
forces or by one of the two former rebel movements. Research by Human
Rights Watch revealed a consistent and brutal pattern of sexual
violence against women and girls as well as reprisal attacks by
fighters allied to each of the warring parties.

International donor countries should contribute more troops for the
peacekeeping mission, provide additional support for Liberian civil
society, and insist upon accountability for war crimes and crimes
against humanity committed during Liberia's war, Human Rights Watch
said.

"The international donors need to recognize that there are enormous
challenges ahead. Liberia needs more peacekeepers, reconstruction
money, and a firm stance on accountability-in other words, no amnesty
for past or current abuses." Takirambudde said.

Just over half of the 15,000 peacekeepers authorized by the United
Nations have arrived in Liberia to establish security, and the vast
majority remains concentrated in and around the capital, Monrovia. Less
than ten percent of the international police force has been deployed.

Security remains the primary concern for thousands of civilians in
rural areas, despite the signing of a peace agreement and the
deployment of a U.N. mission in. Human Rights Watch urged the warring
factions to immediately end abuses against civilians.

In the past year, Liberia has experienced dramatic developments. In
June and July, the main Liberian insurgent group, Liberians United for
Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD), attempted to capture Monrovia and
indiscriminately shelled the capital, resulting in over 2,000 civilians
wounded and scores killed. The fighting ended only in August with the
intervention of regional West African peacekeepers and the departure of
Liberia's then-president Charles Taylor to Nigeria.

Nigeria has failed to transfer Taylor to Sierra Leone, where in March
he was indicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone for war crimes
and crimes against humanity linked to his role in supporting that
country's Revolutionary United Front (RUF) rebels. The regional
peacekeepers were replaced by a U.N. peacekeeping mission in October,
but the contributing countries have been slow to provide the full
15,000 troops required to maintain security and perform numerous other
tasks in the country.

Human Rights Watch will also release a report on child combatants in
Liberia on February 2 in advance of the international donors'
conference on Liberia, which is due to be co-chaired by U.S. Secretary
of State Colin Powell and U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan on February
5 and 6.

The briefing paper "The Guns are in the Bushes": Continuing Abuses in
Liberia is available at:http://hrw.org/backgrounder/africa/liberia0104.htm