Security Council resolution 2116 (2013) [on extension of the mandate of the UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) until 30 Sept. 2014]
Symbol: S/RES/2116 (2013)
Date: 2013-09-18
Status: adopted
Agenda: S/68 [90] UN MISSION IN LIBERIA
S/68 [89] LIBERIA SITUATION
Subjects: UN Mission in Liberia|UN Operation in Côte d'Ivoire|UN. Peacebuilding Commission|Charter of the United Nations (1945). Chapter VII|PEACEKEEPING OPERATIONS|PEACEBUILDING|LIBERIA|POLICE|MILITARY PERSONNEL|SECURITY SECTOR REFORM|TECHNICAL FIELD ADVISERS|GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE|COUNTRY TEAMS|COOPERATION BETWEEN ORGANIZATIONS|RULE OF LAW|RECONCILIATION|BOUNDARIES|CÔTE D'IVOIRE|REGIONAL SECURITY|LIBERIA SITUATION
Votes in favour: 15
Votes against: 0
Abstentions: 0
Voting record:
country: ARGENTINA
vote: yes
country: AUSTRALIA
vote: yes
country: AZERBAIJAN
vote: yes
country: CHINA
vote: yes
country: FRANCE
vote: yes
country: GUATEMALA
vote: yes
country: LUXEMBOURG
vote: yes
country: MOROCCO
vote: yes
country: PAKISTAN
vote: yes
country: REPUBLIC OF KOREA
vote: yes
country: RUSSIAN FEDERATION
vote: yes
country: RWANDA
vote: yes
country: TOGO
vote: yes
country: UNITED KINGDOM
vote: yes
country: UNITED STATES
vote: yes

               United Nations                                                                   S/RES/2116 (2013)
               Security Council                                                 Distr.: General
                                                                                18 September 2013




               Resolution 2116 (2013)
               Adopted by the Security Council at its 7033rd meeting, on
               18 September 2013

                    The Security Council,
                     Recalling its resolutions and statements by its President concerning the
               situation in Liberia and the subregion, in particular its resolutions 1509 (2003), 1836
               (2008), 1885 (2009), 1938 (2010), 1971 (2011), 2008 (2011), and 2066 (2012),
               resolution 2100 (2013) on the situation in Mali, and resolution 2112 (2013) on the
               situation in Côte d’Ivoire,
                     Welcoming the Secretary-General’s report of 28 February 2013 (S/2013/124)
               and the Secretary-General’s report of 12 August 2013 (S/2013/479) and taking note
               of the recommendations contained therein,
                    Welcoming the overall progress towards restoring peace, security, and stability
               in Liberia, commending, on the tenth anniversary of the Comprehensive Peace
               Agreement, the enduring commitment of the people and Government of Liberia to
               peace and to developing democratic processes and institutions and initiating
               important reform efforts and further commending the continued efforts of the
               Government to strengthen security cooperation in the subregion, notably with the
               Governments of Guinea, Sierra Leone, and Côte d’Ivoire,
                    Recognizing that lasting stability in Liberia and the subregion will require
               well-functioning, accountable, and sustainable government institutions, including
               security and rule of law sectors,
                     Encouraging the Government of Liberia to accelerate its efforts to further
               national reconciliation and economic recovery, and to combat corruption and
               promote efficiency and good governance, in particular by continuing to strengthen
               Government transparency and accountability to manage effectively Liberia’s natural
               resources, noting with concern the potential for conflict over Liberia’s natural
               resources and disputes related to land ownership and noting that issues related to
               corruption threaten to undermine stability and the effectiveness of government
               institutions,
                    Recognizing the extension provided by the Government of Liberia to the
               Constitution Review Committee, looking forward to a comprehensive, inclusive
               constitutional review process as well as the development of the National Human
               Rights Action Plan and the implementation of the National Reconciliation Roadmap,

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               urging efforts to strengthen the Independent National Commission on Human Rights
               and calling on all Liberian stakeholders to intensify momentum towards achieving
               greater social cohesion,
                    Welcoming the contributions of the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC) to
               security sector reform (SSR), rule of law, and national reconciliation, further
               welcoming the establishment in Gbarnga of the first justice and security hub with
               the support of the United Nations Peacebuilding Fund and encouraging the
               Government of Liberia to apply the lessons learned as it prioritizes the development
               of additional hubs to extend its provision of security and other needed services
               throughout the country,
                    Expressing its appreciation for the continued assistance provided by both the
               Government and the Liberian people to Ivorian refugees in eastern Liberia and
               taking note of the progress towards their voluntary repatriation to Côte d’Ivoire,
                    Welcoming the launch of the National Vision 2030 in December 2012 and
               looking forward to it providing Liberians with a broad, participatory process to
               address the long-term political, economic, and social challenges facing the country,
                    Taking note of the effectiveness of Operation Restore Hope on Liberia’s border
               with Côte d’Ivoire conducted jointly by the Liberia National Police (LNP), the
               Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization, and the Armed Forces of Liberia and
               recognizing that the instability in western Côte d’Ivoire continues to pose crossborder security challenges for Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire,
                     Commending the work of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL),
               under the leadership of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG),
               for its continuing and significant contribution to maintaining peace and stability in
               Liberia, noting with satisfaction the increasing cooperation between UNMIL and the
               United Nations Operation in Côte d’Ivoire (UNOCI), noting with concern the threats
               to stability posed by insecurity, in particular those posed by transnational organized
               crime, including illicit activities such as arms trafficking, and in this regard,
               welcoming the development by UNMIL of a comprehensive strategy for the
               protection of civilians and encouraging the efforts to ensure adequate human rights
               capacity and expertise within UNMIL to carry out its human rights promotion,
               protection, and monitoring activities,
                     Affirming that the Government of Liberia bears the primary responsibility to
               reform the security sector and encouraging the Government, with the support of
               UNMIL, to demonstrate substantive progress in the reform and restructuring of the
               justice sector,
                     Commending the cooperation between, and significant efforts of, the
               Government of Liberia and UNMIL to plan, manage, and implement the first phase
               of UNMIL’s military drawdown, pursuant to its resolution 2066 (2012), noting with
               concern that the Government remains challenged to fund the continuing costs of
               deploying security personnel and resources to operate and maintain the vacated
               sites, urging the Government to intensify its efforts towards achieving progress on
               the transition of security responsibilities from UNMIL to the national authorities,
               particularly with regard to prioritizing and resourcing the critical gaps and
               improving the capacity and capability of the LNP and the Bureau of Immigration
               and Naturalization as well as the justice sector and further urging the Government to



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           redouble its efforts to register and track arms and related material used and imported
           by its security forces,
                 Recognizing the significant challenges that remain across all sectors, including
           continuing problems with violent crime, in particular the high rates of sexual and
           gender-based violence, especially involving children, recalling its resolutions 1325
           (2000), 1820 (2008), 1888 (2009), 1889 (2009), 1960 (2010) and 2106 (2013) on
           women, peace and security, welcoming the renewed efforts by the Government of
           Liberia, in coordination with UNMIL, to promote and protect the rights of civilians,
           in particular women and children, in this regard, recognizing the Government for
           signing the UN-Women’s COMMIT initiative and reaffirming the importance of
           appropriate gender expertise and training in missions mandated by the Security
           Council,
                Welcoming the efforts of the Secretary-General to keep all peacekeeping
           operations, including UNMIL, under close review and reiterating the need for the
           Security Council to pursue a rigorous, strategic approach to peacekeeping
           deployments,
                Expressing its appreciation to the international community, including the
           Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), the African Union (AU),
           the Mano River Union (MRU), and the United Nations Office for West Africa
           (UNOWA), for their continuing support to consolidate peace, security, and stability
           in Liberia and the region and taking note of the High-level Meeting on 29 June
           2013, co-chaired by the Special Representative for West Africa, President of the
           ECOWAS Commission, and Secretary-General of the MRU, to launch the process of
           developing a subregional strategy for the MRU region,
                 Determining that the situation in Liberia continues to constitute a threat to
           international peace and security in the region,
                Acting under Chapter VII of the Charter of the United Nations,
                1.  Decides that the mandate of UNMIL shall be extended until
           30 September 2014;
                2.    Emphasizes that the Government of Liberia bears primary and ultimate
           responsibility for security and the protection of its population and urges the
           Government to prioritize the effective and rapid development of the security
           agencies, including through the timely provision of sufficient financial resources
           and other support;
                3.    Reaffirms its decision that UNMIL’s primary tasks are to continue to
           support the Government in order to solidify peace and stability in Liberia and to
           protect civilians, and that UNMIL shall also support the Government’s efforts, as
           appropriate, to achieve a successful transition of complete security responsibility to
           the LNP by strengthening the LNP’s capabilities to manage existing personnel,
           improve training programmes to expedite their readiness to assume security
           responsibilities, and coordinate these efforts with all partners, including the
           Government of Liberia, the national police leadership, and donor partners;
                 4.   Recalls its endorsement, in its resolution 2066 (2012), of the Secretary-General’s recommendation to decrease UNMIL’s military strength by four infantry
           battalions and related enablers in three phases between August 2012 and July 2015,
           leaving UNMIL’s military strength at approximately 3,750 personnel, by July 2015,


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               subject to and consistent with conditions in the area of operations, and in that
               respect, authorizes the Secretary-General to implement the second phase reducing
               the military component by 1,129 personnel between October 2013 and September
               2014;
                   5.   Decides to maintain the current authorized strength of UNMIL’s police
               component at 1,795 personnel, including 10 formed police units;
                    6.    Emphasizes that future reconfigurations of UNMIL should be determined
               on the basis of the evolution of the situation on the ground and on the achievement
               of an improved capacity of the Government of Liberia to effectively protect the
               population through the establishment of sustainable and effective security forces and
               by reform of the justice sector, including courts and prisons, with a view to
               progressively take over UNMIL’s security role;
                     7.   Encourages the Government of Liberia and UNMIL to accelerate
               progress in the transition planning process and to identify and address the critical
               gaps to facilitate a successful transition, including by prioritizing tasks, to include
               promotion of human rights and reconciliation, assessment of security challenges
               inclusive of the border, strengthening of democratic institutions and extension of
               state authority and services throughout the country, requests the Secretary-General
               to conduct an analysis focused on identifying the comparative advantages of
               UNMIL and the United Nations Country Team (UNCT) and to report to the Security
               Council in his final report on its findings and expresses its intention to request the
               Secretary-General to deploy a technical assessment mission to Liberia by the end of
               2014, soon after the conclusion of the October 2014 senatorial elections, that should
               focus on the security transition, including detailed options and timelines for the
               further transition of UNMIL after it completes its current reconfiguration by July
               2015 and to report to the Security Council no later than March 2015 on its findings;
                     8.    Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that UNMIL has the requisite
               qualified specialist advisers with the professional skills and experience appropriate
               to this transition phase in order to enhance mentoring with the aim of increasing the
               capacity of the Government, particularly the LNP, to accelerate the implementation
               of sustainable rule of law, justice, governance and SSR programmes, including
               mechanisms to hold perpetrators of sexual and gender-based violence accountable;
                     9.    Emphasizes that long-term stability will require the Government of
               Liberia to develop and sustain a self-sufficient, capable, and competent security
               sector to build the confidence of all Liberians, and in this regard, calls upon
               UNMIL, consistent with its mandate, to continue to make the appropriate internal
               adjustments and, at the request of the Government of Liberia, to support the people
               and the Government in advancing the identified priorities, including national
               reconciliation, constitutional reform, and decentralization while enhancing its
               support for security sector and rule of law reforms and encourages the Government
               of Liberia to enhance the respect for human rights, the professionalism, and the
               effective oversight and accountability of its security sector and to intensify its
               efforts to further national reconciliation;
                     10. Expresses its concern that women and girls in Liberia continue to face a
               high incidence of sexual and gender-based violence, reiterates its call on the
               Government of Liberia to continue to combat sexual violence, particularly against
               children, and gender-based violence, and in coordination with UNMIL, to continue



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           to combat impunity for perpetrators of such crimes and to provide redress, support,
           and protection to victims, including through public information campaigns and by
           continuing to strengthen national police capacity in this area and to raise awareness
           of existing national legislation on sexual violence and encourages the Government
           of Liberia to reinforce its commitment in this regard, including by funding the
           implementation of its national action plan on sexual and gender-based violence and
           improving women’s and girls’ access to justice;
                 11. Encourages UNMIL to continue to ensure regular interaction with the
           civilian population to raise awareness and understanding of its mandate and
           activities, within existing capabilities;
                 12. Calls on the Government of Liberia, with support from UNMIL, within
           existing capabilities, the UNCT and international partners, to continue to support the
           participation of women in conflict prevention, conflict resolution and peacebuilding,
           including in decision-making roles in post-conflict governance institutions and the
           broad range of reform efforts;
                 13. Calls on the Governments of Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia, including with
           the support of UNOCI and UNMIL and the two United Nations country teams, to
           further enhance their cooperation, particularly with respect to the border area,
           including through increasing monitoring, information sharing, and conducting
           coordinated actions, and in developing and implementing a shared border strategy to
           inter alia support the disarmament and repatriation of foreign armed elements on
           both sides of the border and the voluntary return of refugees in safety and dignity;
                 14. Reaffirms the inter-mission cooperation arrangements provided for in its
           resolutions 1609 (2005) and 2100 (2013), consistent with the conditions outlined
           therein, and calls upon the United Nations in Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia, including
           all components of UNOCI and UNMIL, within their respective mandates,
           capabilities and areas of deployment, to enhance their inter mission cooperation for
           the stabilization of the border area, including through the development of a shared,
           strategic vision and plan, in support of the Ivorian and Liberian authorities;
                 15. Takes note of the transfer of three armed helicopters from UNMIL to
           UNOCI, to be used in both Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia, along and across their border,
           and the transfer of four armoured personnel carriers and affirms the importance of
           inter-mission cooperation arrangements as UNMIL and UNOCI downsize;
                 16. Calls upon the donor community to continue to support the Government
           of Liberia, as well as the relevant United Nations agencies and other humanitarian
           actors, as appropriate, in their response to the Ivorian refugees still present in
           Liberia;
                17. Emphasizes the need for coherence between, and integration of,
           peacekeeping, peacebuilding, and development to achieve an effective response to
           post-conflict situations, requests the Secretary-General, in conjunction with the
           UNCT and international partners, to continue to coordinate and collaborate with the
           PBC, calls for the continued development and timely completion of the justice and
           security hubs, taking into account lessons learned with requisite full staffing to
           make these hubs fully operational, to contribute to improved access to justice and
           security services throughout Liberia and encourages the PBC, following close
           consultation with the Government of Liberia, to continue to report on the findings of



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               its missions and its recommendations on how it can accelerate progress on SSR, rule
               of law and national reconciliation;
                     18. Underscores the importance that the military concept of operations and
               rules of engagement be regularly updated and be fully in line with the provisions of
               this resolution and requests the Secretary-General to report on them to the Security
               Council and troop-contributing countries;
                     19. Further underscores the importance for the Government of Liberia, in
               coordination with UNMIL, the UNCT and international partners, to continue to
               develop national security and rule of law institutions that are fully and
               independently operational, and to this end encourages accelerated coordinated
               progress on the development and implementation of the Security and Justice
               Development Plans and the National Human Rights Action Plan and further
               encourages the effective and efficient management of assistance, including from
               bilateral and multilateral partners, to support the efforts of the Government to
               reform the justice and security sectors;
                     20. Encourages ECOWAS and the MRU to develop, with the support of
               UNOWA, and with the assistance of UNOCI and UNMIL, as appropriate, a
               subregional strategy to address the threat of the cross-border movement of armed
               groups and weapons and illicit trafficking and requests the Secretary-General to
               provide regular updates on progress towards the development of such a subregional
               strategy;
                     21. Requests the Secretary-General to keep it regularly informed of the
               situation on the ground as UNMIL continues its reconfiguration, progress towards
               achieving the transitional benchmarks, refinement of a transition plan with the
               Government of Liberia, inclusive of the priority elements in paragraphs 3, 7, 8, 9
               above, and the inter-mission cooperation arrangements between UNMIL and
               UNOCI, and to provide to it a midterm report no later than 28 February 2014 and a
               final report no later than 15 August 2014 on the implementation of this resolution;
                    22.   Decides to remain seized of the matter.




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