INTERNALLY DIPLACED PERSONS IN LIBERIA

THE HUMAN RIGHTS SITUATION OF INTERNALLY DIPLACED PERSONS
IN POS-WAR LIBERIA

October 5, 2004

The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) through its Human Rights Protection Section (HRPS) conducts a series of surveys and investigations on specific groups of the population that are particularly vulnerable with the aim of establishing the exact human rights situation under which the given sector of society lives. Thus work is conducted to find out where and how women, children and the elderly as well as persons with disabilities adversely affected by war, persons deprived of their liberty for breaking or suspected of breaking the law (prisoners and/or detainees) live against the requirements of Liberian law and international human rights standards. This paper is about the plight of approximately a million camp dwellers in Liberia of which 500,000 are IDPs. The figures used in this study are taken from the Results Focused Transition Framework (RFTF) Implementation Assessment Report- August 2004 and the IDP Return Survey of Official Camps – Liberia – 18 May 2004.

[The figures in the Results Focused Transition Framework (RFTF) Implementation Assessment Report- August 2004 give the breakdown of 250,000 for refugees, 73,000 for third-country returnees and 490,000 for Internally Displaced Persons. VOA1 Brewerville IDP Camp in Montserrado has 3254 people. Unification Camp in Margibi holds 7974 dwellers].

Although no disaggregated statistics were available on the spot about the population living in the visited camps, the information the second above source, namely that the sample of people from the 20 officially recognized IDP camps provides a general and reliable idea of the features that are common to other camps. The data suggest an estimation of 45% of the population in IDP camps to be children as of December 2003 . As for the sex and gender proportions, the May 2004 survey puts women at 54% against 46% men. The ratio is tipped further when the 20-30 year age group is looked at where women constitute 63% with men making up only 37%. The survey also examined the rate of vulnerability for both sexes. Out of all the men camp dwellers, 95% had no vulnerability but for the women those without vulnerability were 86%.

The background of gross human rights violations experienced by people living in IDP camps today is relevant to the full appreciation of the need for increased attention to be paid to the human rights of IDPs. During the war, rape and other forms of sexual abuse, torture, killings, looting and abduction of children either to be forced into fighting or in the case of girl children for sexual exploitation were rampant. In the post war impoverished environment with much of the law enforcement system near to non-existent coupled with harsh living conditions for everyone, the human rights situation of people living in camps calls for very close monitoring and reporting of the finding to create public awareness among the national authorities and their international partners. The account which follows is based on findings about the two IDP camps located in a radius of about ten miles from Monrovia.

The interviews conducted sought to establish the general living conditions of persons forced by circumstances to live in camps. Information was therefore sought on (i) the physical security of persons, (ii) subsistence needs – i.e health, nutrition and shelter (access to education for children) and (iii) questions of self reliance vocational training and participation in programmes being run for adults.

The worst off of the badly off: (On September 30, 2004 the Committee on IDPs referred to this settlement as the Lost city)

Human Rights Officers visited two IDP camps which are situated on the periphery f Monrovia - VOA1 in Brewerville (Montserrado County) and Unification Camp in Margibi County). Though not strategically planned, the visits to the two camps captured the hard but largely unknown realities of life in IDP camps. The central issue here to grasp in that IDPs fall in two distinctive categories. One category is that of recognized camps and the other is that of those referred to as spontaneous camps. The one in VOA1 Brewerville is a spontaneous camp. With a total population of over 3000, this facility consists of an abandoned structure which must have served as a factory or some kind of warehouse. While some rooms look like they were offices, some others resemble more to prison cells or pantries appended to a kitchen. Yet some others are open spaces resembling a church or hall where public gatherings must have taken place. There are neither doors, windows nor even a roof to the building because they were because they were ripped away during the war. The only assistance given to the dwellers from the international community comes from the World Food Programme for which the population is grateful. However their status makes them excluded from any NFI benefits.

The human rights situation of the persons living in this camp are harsh. There is no safe drinking water in the vicinity, no lighting, everybody sleeps on the hard rough concrete floor – babies, pregnant women, the sick, and the elderly. A mat is a rare sight and no mattresses. The hygienic state in these involuntary “dormitories” accommodating several households is pathetic owing to the inadequacy of basic items such as water and simple detergents. The air inside is stale and stuffy with some parts completely cut off from any light. At night small kerosene lamps, locally made candles litter the floor. Cooking utensils, sacks of beans, rice and plastic pails are heaped in one corner from which huge rats dash on hearing the footsteps of people entering. Many dwellers looked sickly and miserable. Undernourishment, poor sleeping conditions, anxiety about the future as well as the immediate personal security weigh heavily on the population in the unrecognized camps. There is practically no privacy and family intimate life is reduced to nil.

This unrecognized IDP community of 3000 people has neither clinic first aid provision. In the context of the frequent sexual abuses, particularly of rape and defilement committed against women and girl children the conditions described above open the door to many other health risks for victims. Taking advantage of the obscurity, the perpetrator stands a good chance of remaining unidentified and therefore enjoying impunity. But even in the rare cases when they are actually caught, the absence of the police within reach is an added injustice deprivation IDPs suffer. Meanwhile, the transmission of HIV/AIDS to victims and its spread within the community is unchecked. Underage motherhood and/or unwanted pregnancies become common place. These problems are exacerbated by the cultural taboos that prevent female victims from speaking out when the violations are inflicted on them. Victims do not come openly accuse perpetrators for fear of the stigma. It must be borne in mind that the large majority of IDPs are illiterate, not familiar with contraception applications and even if they had the knowledge, access to simple items for safe sex such as condoms ( an NFI item) is very limited indeed. Against the above, the time spent by some of the more vulnerable persons in spontaneous IDP camps constitutes a passage to a lifetime condemnation:

There is no school facility for children or vocational training arrangements for adults to prepare them for what they can do when they leave the camp for resettlement although some of the interviewees have lived in the camp for three years. It is going to be a huge challenge after people have existed in these conditions of grave human rights denial to rehabilitate them and turn them into intellectually able, economically productive and politically informed members of national society. Yet based on the demographic breakdown as of July 2004, 43.4% of Liberia’s population is below the age of 15 with a median age of 18.1. As for the IDP population statistics regarding the 20 official camps surveyed and published in May 2004, 63 if the “young persons” bracket were to include those below 25, then that percentage would rise to nearly 72%. What do these statistics mean in terms of the work required for the protection and promotion of human rights in post war Liberia?

Within the context of a society which has endured fourteen years of killings, mutilation, rape and all kinds of cruel treatment of fellow humans that went together with the destruction of most of the infrastructure, one is tempted to concede that any contribution, however little it may be, is significant for the IDP population in Liberia at present. It is against that background that the work of UNHCR and WFP in particular deserves to be commended even though the shortage of resources has unfortunately caused UNHCR to respond only to the needs of persons living in what is termed recognized IDP camps. It is only WFP which feeds those in the spontaneous ones. Fortunately, international humanitarian NGOs done so much to complement and sometimes even to assume the role of United nations Agencies in responding to the needs on the ground. That the real impact remains limited is due to the huge level demands.

The human rights needs of IDPs across the board constitute one of the biggest challenges to the United Nations Mission in Liberia and the National Transitional Government of Liberia (NTGL) are confronted with. The enormity of the challenges Liberia faces in trying to achieve the Millennium Declaration Goals i.e : (i) to halve extreme poverty and hunger, (ii) to achieve universal primary education, (iii) to promote gender equality, (iv) to reduce under-five mortality, (v) to reduce maternal mortality by two thirds and (vi) to reverse the spread of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases become clear with a glance at its available most recent HDI indicators in these six areas.

In the area of the economic, social and cultural rights, the figures show a net regression.

In the fight to reduce poverty since 1990 with per capita GNI dropping from $400, to just $140 in 2002 – well under the $470 average for South of the Sahara African region. Atlas method statistics show the figures for 2002 and 2003 to have been $ 140 and $130 respectively. The indices on the percentage of the population below minimum level of dietary energy consumption increased steadily from 33 to 38 and to 42 for the years 1990, 1995 and 2001. The figures on aid per capita for 2002 and 2003 having been $30 and $15 respectively, the government’s performance in delivering other human rights which are dependent on resources was further weakened. Not surprisingly, despite the target in the health sector to reduce the under 5 mortality, the figure from 1990 to 2002 remained the same at 235 per 1000. On the other hand the percentages of immunizing the under 12 months against measles instead of improving fell from 78% to 57% for the years 2001 and 2002.

It is against the above background that the overall level of protection and promotion of human rights in Liberia must be gauged and trends predicted within the context of a very dynamic socio-political environment. Most constituent parts of society both in the public and the informal sectors are undergoing accelerated transformation. Institutions for the creation of the prerequisite legal framework as well as the laws themselves to safeguard human rights are still in the making. Much work and initiatives must be assumed by Liberia’s informed and committed partners in consultation with the NTGL, other external actors and Liberia’s civil society to advance improvement in the conditions of people’s lives. This project proposal is based on consultations made with those partners with the intention of obtaining data on past efforts, their outcomes and recommendations on what is likely to work in the future which is now.

CONFRONTING THE HUMAN RIGHTS PROTECTION CHALLENGE

The harsh human rights conditions of IDPs in Liberia is a valid indicator of the great need there is to assist the strengthening of the human rights protection mechanism in the entire country. Apart from the one vulnerable group of internally displaced persons examined un detail above, HRPS undertakes to address the global national human rights challenge with a multi-pronged approach. Four of these are briefly presented below:

(1) Development of a National Human Rights Plan of Action:

Starting from the premise that all human rights are equal, indivisible and inalienable, any undertaking to provide a sustainable foundation for the protection and promotion of human rights must seek to involve the widest range of duty bearers and rights holders in the country. For this to happen HRPS will determinedly take human rights out of the traditional confines and make them understood as they should be. The objective of expanding the understanding of human rights among stakeholders is to induce active participation by all at both the formal and informal levels. In order to bring this about all government departments, civil society institutions and organizations as well as traditional and religious leaders will be invited to be part of the process of forging a national human rights culture.

To start this vital national undertaking HRPS in consultation and concert with partners – both national and international proposes a three-day seminar to be held in Monrovia where representatives of divers sectors of society will freely share ideas on what needs to be done and how to produce a national programme that will ensure that human rights in Liberia are understood by all, respected by every member in society, protected first by the state machinery and by citizens and ultimately promoted by the public and private media.

The preparatory work for the seminar will be carried out by four advisors in the HRPS. A project paper will be agreed upon spelling out the activities planned for the three days, the participants (beneficiaries), resource persons to facilitate the discussions and the costs involved. The project will be submitted to UNMIL for approval. Funding for the project will be mainly by UNMIL although the NTGL departments and other UN Agencies will be invited to make contributions according to their ability to build a sense of ownership. While the exact number of participants will depend on that of agreed upon representatives from the different sectors of society, the total should be around 100 in view of limited resources. The seminar should propose a national strategy on the way forward, including creating a reduced committee to constitute the national secretariat for the NAP. That committee, if the forum so wishes could include any two Human Rights Advisers whenever in convenes its meeting for purposes of technical and advisory support. Geographical representation, gender balance, age, religious and professional considerations will be made in determining the composition of the forum. Contributions in form of resource persons from South Africa, Rwanda, Ghana and Uganda given those counties’ history and experiences in national human rights institutional work will be sought. The event should be held in January/February 2005.

(2) Strengthening the Independent National Human Rights Commission

A successful holding of the above forum and the creation of committee at the end of it to maintain the momentum set in motion will have brought about a favourable environment in which all Liberians will appreciate the value and necessity of a national institution that plays the role of watchdog on citizens’ human rights, advises government on its responsibilities arising from the national constitution and the international human rights instruments signed, ratified and /or acceded to by Liberia. The enhanced understanding of human rights in general and of the institution’s value in safeguarding those rights will help duty bearers and rights holders in the country to pool efforts together in supporting its being strengthened. The legislative and executive branches of government will have received the necessary information to enable them see why giving the institution the a clear and robust mandate is in the nation’s interest.

HRPS’s Advisor on the national human rights institutions will lead the process of making the Independent National Human Rights Commission a truly Paris Principles based and people owned body. With support from human rights specialists both within UNMIL and outside – e.g. the Human Rights Programme Officer (UNDP), protection officers in UNHCR, protection officers of UNICEF, UNFPA and within international and national humanitarian NGOs the capacity of the INHRC will elevated to its full capacity.

The process of legitimizing and legal reinforcing the National Human Rights Commission in Liberia should be a second rallying point where the various sectors of civil society will come together and through dialogue find solutions the recurrent political, economic and social problems which have prevented peace, security and prosperity from taking root in Liberia over the last twenty years.

The law on the creation of a truly Paris Principles based human rights commission having been revised, HRPS will in future direct its efforts towards increasing the outreach of the commission to the public and facilitate their sense ownership in what it does for society. To achieve this second objective several activities are being prepared both for the direct benefit of the commissioners and the commission’s secretariat on the one hand and for the government and general public. A project detailing the kind of planned interventions in this regard is to be developed through consultation among the four Advisors and with government departments, as well as with credible Liberian human rights NGOs. The project will indicate what activities are envisaged, beneficiaries, time frames and estimated costs.

(3) The empowerment of civil society based organizations in Liberia:

In view of current human rights issues HRPS has to deal with, the widely held view that it is the state which is the main /sole violator of citizen’s rights must be reconsidered. Facts show that human rights violations frequently emanate from communities themselves and that even where attempts by the state are made to check the abuses society itself stands in the way.

The explanation for this is partly that some traditional taboos are still strongly adhered to among the rural populations. Where it is not the negative impact of the harmful traditional practices, the elite have developed a sharp appetite for material acquisition and self-aggrandizement which lead to human rights denials towards vulnerable sectors of the population. To mitigate the above two human rights problems HRPS must embark on a human rights education programme to sensitize members of the public on what citizens’ rights and obligations are in different domains. Two areas of particular concern are women’s rights and children’s rights.

The post-war situation which obtains in Liberia presents very specific challenges for the protection and guaranteeing human rights for vulnerable groups. Cases of rape where the victims were as young as two- year old infants have been severally reported. Many sexual abuse cases are not reported as women will not do so out of fear of carrying the stigma. Information is received on the continuing keeping of young persons under quasi-slavery conditions by former civil warlords. The present weak state law enforcement mechanisms have left the victims of these abuses which originate from society itself to go on with impunity in most cases. This means that there is much need to encourage initiatives from civil society which can check the violations. Several approaches will be devised to bring positive changes about.

1. Civic Education campaign (a):

A large majority of people in Liberia needs to have access to information on basic human rights issues. Women’s rights are widely violated by people who
often lack awareness of human rights obligations towards their victims. The impunity with which they get away with crimes committed worsens matters. HRPS (child protection unit) in collaboration with the Gender Section and the Humanitarian Protection Section will design joint action to combat these abuses.

2. Civic Education campaign (b):

Schools and churches in rural areas are key social contact spots within communities. HRPS have identified this as one avenue in transmitting the human rights message to communities which are otherwise left out of the mainstream channels of communication. Within the limits of accessibility by road and as far as security permits within each county, HROs will establish new contacts with schools/churches and explain how human rights advocacy would be facilitated by cooperation. Initially brief introductory sessions will be conducted. Later on, interested competent teachers will be put on TOT training programmes. In the end human rights dissemination will follow when
Schools themselves do it.

3. Civic Education campaign (c):
The media as a channel for transmitting human rights messages to the public and getting society to participate in exchanging ideas on concerns affecting their rights. HRPS will fully exploit the UNMIL Radio facility to disseminate
constructive information in the enhancement of awareness of human rights standards. Plans include the transmission of discussions, radio spots and news in several vernaculars with the view to reach parts of the population which do not understand standard English.

4. Documentation and advocacy:
After nearly two decades of civil war, the rate of literacy in Liberia is low. At the same time, literature which those who are literate can read on human rights is very scarce. That which may be found is mainly in English whereas the vast majority of people are much more at ease with their mother tongues that are not English. HRPS will undertake to reproduce the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in three to four languages most spoken in Liberia. The Constitution will also be reproduced. In order to kill to birds with a single stone, there will be two kinds of each document. One will be in the normal text font. The other should be in extra large characters for easy reading by persons being taught both human rights and reading. If funds permit, the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights and the Protocols to it in the Rights of the Child and of Women will be reproduced for widest dissemination.