Watchlist

Here is a great site I have discovered. A human rights watchdog website that monitors peoples in armed conflict zones.Watchlist on Children and Armed Conflict
122 East 42nd Street, 12th Floor, New York, NY 10168 http://www.watchlist.org/
Telephone: 212.551.3111 Fax: 212.551.3180 watchlist@womenscommission.org


Watchlist - Liberia Report
SUMMARY
Liberia has been in a nearly constant state of civil war for 14 years. This has taken an enormous toll on the lives of Liberian children, adolescents and all civilians. Throughout the years of civil war and especially during the 2003 War, thousands of Liberian children have been victims of killings, rape and sexual assault, abduction, torture, forced labor, forced recruitment into fighting forces and displacement and other violations by warring factions, including the government of Liberia under Charles Taylor, Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) and the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL). A complex web of cross-border activities helped to fuel war in Liberia and to feed instability and fragility throughout the region.

Since the National Transitional Government of Liberia (NTGL) assumed power and the United Nations (UN) deployed the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), post-conflict in Liberia has seen slight improvements in the humanitarian, human rights and political situations. Yet, widespread human rights violations, including abuses against children, continue to be committed with impunity, particularly in areas where peacekeepers have been late to deploy.

This report compiles information from a variety of sources to document ongoing violations of Liberian children's security and rights. It also makes urgent recommendations to all parties that participated in armed conflict, the UN Security Council, UNMIL, international donors, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and others to take immediate action to protect Liberian children from further abuse and devastation as reconstruction in Liberia moves forward.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

• INDICATORS CHART
• INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS CHART
• SUMMARY
• CONTEXT
• Peace Process and Post-conflict
• UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) and Child Protection
• Cross-border Dimensions of Conflict
• REFUGEES AND IDPs
• IDP Children—Security and Protection
• IDP Children—Health
• IDP Children—Education
• Liberian Refugee Children—Security and Protection
• Liberian Refugee Children—Access to Basic Services
• Returning Home
• Foreign National Refugees in Liberia
• Reunification of Separated Children
• HEALTH
• HIV/AIDS
• EDUCATION
• GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE
• Sexual Exploitation in West Africa
• TRAFFICKING AND EXPLOITATION
• LANDMINES AND UXO
• SMALL ARMS
• CHILD SOLDIERS
• Government Forces
• LURD
• MODEL
• Life with Fighting Forces
• DDRR and Current Status
• UN SECURITY COUNCIL ACTIONS
• Security Council Resolutions
• Secretary-General's Reports
• UN Special Representatives
• ECOWAS-ECOMIL
• URGENT RECOMMENDATIONS
• TO ALL PARTIES THAT PARTICIPATED IN ARMED CONFLICT
• TO THE NATIONAL TRANSITIONAL GOVERNMENT OF LIBERIA (NTGL)
• TO THE UNITED NATIONS SECURITY COUNCIL
• TO UNMIL
• TO DONOR GOVERNMENTS AND AGENCIES
• TO ECOWAS
• SOURCES

Note: Information contained in this report is current up to April 30, 2004