Liberias Transition Government, International Partners to Gather in Copenhagen for talks on reconstruction: Technical meeting to focus on West African countrys march towards free, fair, and democratic national elections
COPENHAGEN (UNDP): Some 20 months after a comprehensive peace accord ended a civil war which devastated its people and razed to the ground its institutions, on 9-10 May in Copenhagen, top officials from the National Transitional Government of Liberia will update the countrys partners on its progress since the Liberia Reconstruction Conference.
Priority will be given to issues such as accountability, transparency, return and reintegration of internally displaced persons and refugees, demobilization of the Armed Forces of Liberia, as well as efforts to prepare for October presidential elections in the West African country.
Co-organized by the UN and the World Bank, this second Technical Meeting will bring together representatives of donor countries, international financial institutions, UN agencies, regional organizations, and civil society representatives.
Participants will discuss the Results Focused Transition Framework against which donors pledged nearly 500 million US dollar in humanitarian and reconstruction assistance for Liberia at a February 2004 global conference at the UN in New York and review the countrys changing needs, priorities and way forward.
Who:
Christian Herbert, Minister of Planning and Economic Affairs, National Transitional Government of Liberia and head of the Liberian delegation.
Abou Moussa, Officer in Charge of the United Nation’s mission of Liberia
Mats Karlsson, World Bank Representative for Ghana, Liberia and Sierra Leone
Steven Ursino, Country Director, UNDP Liberia
Geoffrey Rudd, Officer in Charge of the Delegation of the European Commission to Liberia
What: Liberia Results Focused Transitional Framework Technical Meeting
Where: UNDP Nordic Office, Copenhagen, Denmark
When: 9 AM – 1 PM, 9 May 2005
For more information and registration, please contact:
In Copenhagen: Christine Drud, Communications Officer, UNDP: 35467154 – 29452320; e-mail: [email protected]
Background:
The Results Focused Transition Framework Technical Meeting comes at the most crucial phase in Liberias transition to enduring peace. Last month, the country launched a voter registration drive ahead of landmark presidential elections in October.
Crafted in January 2004 as a result of a joint World Bank-UNDP needs assessment, the framework highlighted the priority needs of Liberia. The communiqué resulting from the New York donor conference called for comprehensive monitoring of this tool.
During the Technical Meeting Monday and Tuesday, the National Transitional Government of Liberia will brief delegations on the countrys achievements over the past year and present an updated framework which is the result of extensive consultations among Liberians.
The central topic of discussion during the two-day meeting will be Liberias transition since the signing of the August 2003 Comprehensive Peace Agreement, which ended 14 years of devastating civil war.
UNDP is helping Liberia overcome the many challenges it faces in this transition. For example, UNDP provides technical support to coordinate the disarmament and demobilization of former combatants.
At the same time, it offers vital assistance to the government as it seeks to establish a comprehensive national reconstruction plan, including rebuilding the health, education and water infrastructure destroyed by the war; technical assistance to bolster the capacity of key government ministries; and funding for rehabilitation of office buildings and the purchase of vehicles and office equipment.
UNDP is also bolstering preparations for the national elections by teaching Liberians how to vote through a new civic education programme.
For more information on UNDPs work in Liberia visit: www.lr.undp.org/
For more information on UNDP’s work in Africa visit: www.undp.org/regions/africa/
