Liberia in Transition—A Discussion with the UN Panel on Liberia

Liberia was considered the epicenter of the conflicts that destabilized West Africa in the 1990s and the early years of this decade. Now ex-president Charles Taylor faces trial for war crimes committed in neighboring Sierra Leone and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is working to set Liberia on a new and peaceful course.

During the war, warlords illegally exported Liberian timber and diamonds in order to pay for weapons. Although the war is over, UN sanctions remain in place to safeguard the country’s natural resources. Liberia’s now-legitimate government would like to see the sanctions lifted and the Security Council is set to vote on whether to accede to that demand.

Members of the UN Panel of Experts on Liberia discussed the impact of Liberia’s resources on West Africa’s wars, how effective sanctions were in shutting down the conflicts, and whether it is time to restore control of the country’s natural wealth to local control.

Speakers

• Akwe Amosu, Africa Policy Analyst for the Open Society Institute;
• Tim Hetherington, photographer and film maker and consultant with the UN Panel of Experts on Liberia;
• Art Blundell, timber specialist and Chair of the UN Panel;
• Caspar Fithen, diamond specialist and UN Panel member;
• Steve Radelet, Senior Fellow, Center for Global Development and economic advisor to President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf;
• Steve McDonald, Consulting International Programs Manager for The Woodrow Wilson Center in Liberia, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of Congo (moderator).

View a video of the event on the Wilson Center website.

This event was organized to complement the Moving Walls 11 documentary photography exhibit that features Tim Hetherington’s images from the war in Liberia.