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UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

LIBERIA: Catholic Commission concerned about election security

MONROVIA, 16 January 2003 (IRIN) - Liberian Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (JPC) on Thursday expressed concerns over the "enabling security environment for the conduct of a free,fair, transparent and tension-free general and presidential elections" scheduled for October.

In a statement on the eve of the release of its annual report on the human rights situation, JPC National Executive Director
Francese Johnson-Morris called for the security of all opposition political parties and independent candidates especially during the campaigning period.

"Given the unprecedented multiplicity of armed security agencies in the country, with most of them having no legal status and defined command structures, coupled with their track records of gross human rights abuses, we are inclined to believe that the 2003 elections will be marred by the worse forms of security brutality, molestation, and intimidation of opposition political parties and candidates ever recorded in the country’s history," he said.

The commission noted that the deployment of a joint United Nations and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) stabilization force to provide elections security was necessary to serve as both sufficient security guarantee and the basis for having a credible election results.

Short of this, he said, there is a rather grim prospect for a violent-free election.

"Considering the serious threats the ongoing rebels poses to the conduct of the October elections," the Commission called on the rebels Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy "to abandon its military adventurism and join the
electoral process".

"Of equal concern to the JPC is the continuous recruitment, mainly by means of force, children as young as nine years old into the fighting forces of both government and LURD. Such detestable practice is undeniably the handiwork of morally depraved individuals whose for power and wealth knows no bound," it added.

It appealed to President Charles Taylor to release human rights defenders Aloysius Toe and Sheik Sackor along with others being held in prison on treason charges.

Themes: (IRIN) Conflict, (IRIN) Governance

[ENDS]

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