Background
Liberia is recovering from fourteen years of civil war that ended in 2005. While the country is making great strides towards stability and development, it is still fragile, especially due to high levels of poverty and the fact that it is bordered by other fragile countries recovering from conflict. Liberia’s borders are porous, meaning that firearms and mercenaries move relatively freely across the region. Security providers are not equipped to ensure border security and safety in both rural communities and urban areas and this has resulted in high levels of vigilantism as people feel the need to take the law into their own hands.

Liberia is also lacking in legislation on, and regulation of, small arms, which is troubling given the fragile nature of the country and its neighbours as well as the easy access to weapons.  As a stop-gap measure, in 2007, the President issued an executive order temporarily banning the possession of all firearms. However, it is only a temporary solution and does not take into consideration the situation on the ground where many Liberians rely on hunting to support their families.

DDG interventions
In 2010, Danish Demining Group (DDG) supported the Government of Liberia in re-drafting existing draft firearm legislation, working in partnership with the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), the Liberian National Commission on Small Arms and the Ministry of Justice. With the re-drafted firearm legislation Liberia will be able to live up to its regional commitments to ECOWAS’ Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons as well as to protect the livelihoods of its citizens. As of November 2011, the draft is in the process of being approved by the Parliament.

Future activities
Pending funding, DDG plans to continue support for the Government of Liberia in implementing its firearm legislation through development of regulatory measures, awareness raising activities and strengthening of relations between local communities and security providers. Of high priority is the collaboration with communities to build community safety, particularly along the fragile border with Côte d’Ivoire.