Jendayi Frazer argues that the conviction of Charles Taylor is in large part due to the Bush administration's investment of attention, energy, and diplomatic and financial resources to implement a comprehensive strategy in Liberia and the region.
In awarding the prize to three women activists, the Nobel committee is honoring the fact that women's full participation in society is essential to peace, says CFR's Isobel Coleman.
Speaker: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presider: Mark Whitaker
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of the Republic of Liberia, discusses the state of Democracy in Western Africa and the progress she has made as the head of the Liberian state.
Speaker: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf Presider: Mark Whitaker
Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf says her country and region continue to make democratic strides, but she appealed for greater foreign investment to build economic and political capacity.
Much attention surrounded the 2006 inauguration of Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa’s first elected female head of state. After a year in office, there are promising signs of change in Liberia, but many challenges lie ahead.
Steven Radelet, senior fellow at the Center for Global Development and economic adviser to Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, discusses Liberia's reconstruction and the economic challenges the country faces.
This report from the US Institute for Peace (USIP) details the first meeting of the Liberia Working Group, in November 2006. The Group was convened to address the major topics in Liberia's peacebuilding efforts, with a view to maintaining international interest, support, and engagement in Liberia to ensure a durable peace following the election of a democratic government led by President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf in November 2005. This briefing highlights the central points of the meeting and panelists' recommendations for the way forward: participants lauded Liberia for its efforts to reform the security sector, the establishment of the truth and reconciliation commission, and strong support from the United States. On the other hand, they raised concerns about the incomplete disarmament process, persistent bias in the media, lagging legal reform, and the continuing fragility of the sub-region.
Former Liberian president and strongman Charles Taylor has been taken to Sierra Leone under UN custody to face war crimes proceedings. His case will be watched closely on a continent where predatory leaders are rarely held accountable for their crimes.
Speaker: Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf Presider: Princeton N. Lyman
Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, the first democratically elected female head of state in Africa, discusses her historic victory, the challenges her country faces emerging from years of civil war, and the place of women in government, in a conversation with Princeton Lyman at the 2005-2006 David Rockefeller Lecture.
The Council on Foreign Relations' David Rockefeller Studies Program—CFR's "think tank"—is home to more than seventy full-time, adjunct, and visiting scholars and practitioners (called "fellows"). Their expertise covers the world's major regions as well as the critical issues shaping today's global agenda. Download the printable CFR Experts Guide.
The author assesses the causes and consequences of the violence faced by several Central American countries and examines the national, regional, and international efforts intended to curb its worst effects.