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# 									Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs: Liberia Summary							

Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL) works to keep Americans safe at home by countering international crime, illegal drugs, and instability abroad. INL helps countries deliver justice and fairness by strengthening their police, courts, and corrections systems. These efforts reduce the amount of crime and illegal drugs reaching U.S. shores.

**Challenges:******In March 2018, the UNMission in Liberia (UNMIL), which had played a critical role in stabilizing Liberia after a devastating 14-year civil war, officially ended its mission in Liberia after a gradual drawdown. Following the end of UNMIL, Liberia continues to suffer from a worsening economic downturn, which was exacerbated by a previousEbola outbreak of 2014-2015 when Liberia‘s economy fell dramatically from over 8.5 percent pre-Ebola to around 0.3 percent in mid-2016. As Liberians continue to build their institutions, the criminal justice system faceschallenges, such as limited government resources for staffing, training, procurement of equipment and supplies, and low morale. Many Liberians choose to settle legal matters outside the formal justice system that may include vigilante justice, cash payment to crime victims, or traditional/tribal justice practices.

**Goals:******INL programs in Liberia support a stable and secure Liberia that facilitates U.S. foreign policy and security goals in the region through assistance to the criminal justice and civilian security sectors. INL’s focus is on institutional criminal justice sector reform, while supporting operational and administrative capacity building, improvingprofessionalism, as well as specialized skills to address transnational organized crime, narcotics trafficking, and Trafficking in Persons.

**Accomplishments:**

INL’s rule of law program provides technical assistance to Liberian criminal justice sector institutions to foster formal justice institutions that citizens rely on and trust as an impartial means to settle disputes, without resorting to violence or vigilante justice. Accomplishments include:
        - Trafficking in Persons  (TIP) :  Sinc e 2018, INL assistance to the  Liberia National Police ( LNP )  and Liberian judiciary resulted in  the  first investigations and prosecutions of TIP cases ,  and  increased  awareness of TIP within the law enforcement sector.   
        - Magistrates Sitting  Program:  Since January 2020, the Monrovia Central Prison released 99 pre-trial detainees, representing  approximately  a  10 percent  decrease in pre-trial detention rate.  This was accomplished through the Magistrate Sitting program that fast tracks hearing dates and records the release of pre-trial detain ees. The project  also provided technical assistance to circuit court judges and public defenders throughout Liberia, resulting in  new procedures  to process cases more efficiently through the court system.   
        - Support to the Solicitor General’s (SG) Prosecution Office:  Since 2013, INL has supported training for the Ministry of Justice prosecutors, who work in the Office of the Solicitor General. There are few law libraries in Liberia, and no law journals,  thus  INL  facilitates  regular gatherings of prosecutors with experienced litigators and legal scholars, to fill the informational gap that can inhibit an attorney’s professional development. 
        - Public Defender Support :  Public Defenders began to track  court cases to ensure that pre-trial detainees are released in a timely manner according to a newly developed SOP on pre-trial detention .  INL ’s  support  also has  improved the availability of justice for Liberian defendants by training and resourcing the current cadre of public defenders, and developing the training manual for Liberian public defenders. 

INL’spolice program is focused on institution–building and assistingthe LNP to develop the structure, skills, and community orientation necessary to prevent, detect, and investigate crime; protect the rights of all; and maintain peace and security throughout the country. Accomplishments include:
        - Successful National Presidential Elections:  INL – trained LNP officers and other  law enforcement agencies successfully coordinated and maintained peace throughout Liberia during the 201 7  national presidential elections  and the ensuing transfer of power .   
        - Force Development :  INL has provided training and equipment to the two armed units of the LNP, the 360-strong SWAT-like Emergency Response Unit (ERU) and the 1, 5 00-strong Police Support Unit (PSU), which is charged with public order management. INL-trained LNP instructors now lead the ERU and PSU training courses.  T rained ERU/PSU officers have dealt with riots and demonstrations, displaying capacity to plan and execute proper responses to these events with appropriate use of force. 
        - National Security Radio System :  INL is aiding the  G overnment of Liberia  in establishing a national communications system for civilian law enforcement agencies to improve  communi c ation and  incident response times outside Monrovia.  
        - Local Dispute Resolution:  More tha n 2,500  security issues have been raised since 2011 through the Mitigating Local Disputes in Liberia (MLDL) project, which supports four county security councils, 14 district security councils, and 14 community fora as a means of  strengthening early warning and crisis response and  encouraging dispute resolution at th e local level. 

INL’s counter–narcotics program is focused on strengthening the capacity of the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) to be a professional and credible organization capable of disrupting drug trafficking, and helping the Government of Liberia and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) reduce drug demand through evidence-based treatment programs. Accomplishments include:
        - LDEA Reforms:  Since deployment of an INL Counter – narcotics Advisor to the LDEA in 2013, the organization has  made a number of improvements and  undergone institutional reform that includes complete restructuring, auditing of personnel and assets,  advancing  a merit-based  promotion  process, and continued  internal  vetting.  Since the start of a UNODC transnational organized crime project in 2017, the LDEA has dramatically increased the insta nces of counter – narcotics interdictions, especially of a transnational nature.   
        - Drug Law:  INL, in collaboration with UNODC and Liberia’s Ministry of Justice, helped LDEA to draft Liberia’s first drug law as well as the LDEA Act, which were passed into law in 2014. The drug law allows defendants to be charged under laws tailored to drug offenses rather than under the public health law. 
        - Training:  INL  provided technical assistance for  LDEA’s first-ever new recruit specialized counter – narcotics training, which was funded and run by LDEA. 

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