Exit Strategies of the United Nations and the Economic Community of West African States Peacekeeping Operations in Sierra Leone and Liberia
Keywords:
Peace keeping, partnership, UN, ECOWAS, case studies, Sierra Leone, LiberiaSynopsis
Exit strategy in peacekeeping m1ss10ns, a process of either disengaging or terminating involvement in peacekeeping operations, is increasingly becoming a challenge to the intern tional community. Past experiences in Somalia, Bosnia, Lebanon, and in recent times, Iraq, have shown that such an exercise is usually associated with structural problems. Previous studies· on exit strategies in peacekeeping operations have been deeply ethnocentric and dominated by literature from the global north. To illustrate some African examples to the problem, this study examined the exit strategies adopted by the United Nations (UN) and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) peacekeeping operations in Sierra Leone and Liberia by focusing on the institutional/policy frameworks, approaches, and their effects on the two post-war societies. The study adopted a combination of descriptive, qualitative and case study research design. The purposive sampling technique was used to select past and cmrent force commanders, government officials, and staff of the UN and ECOWAS based on mission experience and knowledge on exit strategies. A total of 30 unstructured in-depth interviews and six focus group discussions were conducted with military and civilian experts on exit · strategy. Secondary data consisted of official documents from the UN, ECOWAS, bilateral institutions and the government of Sierra Leone and Liberia. Data were analysed using descriptive and constant comparative methods. Prior to the commencement of peacekeeping operations in these two countries, both the UN and ECOWAS did not have any institutional or policy framework guiding peacekeeping exit, mainly because such operations were unde1taken on ad-hoe basis and also because the planning process placed much emphasis on the attainment of sustainable peace as against the withdrawal of peacek epers. Yet, mounting peacekeeping costs, vaguely-worded mandates, blurred rules of engagement and the reluctance of troop-contributing countries to commit to endless mission forced both organisations to establish working frameworks. While the ECOWAS approach was set out in the Concepts of Operation of the ECOWAS Standby force, that of the UN was pursued through the Integrated Mission Planning Process. Although the ECOWAS preferred to exit through re-hatting in both operations, the UN maintained a systematic level of transition from benchmarking, phased withdrawal and successor operations. The major drawbacks of these approaches include the fact that the organisations appeared not to include local authorities in the implementation of their various exit strategies. As such, the withdrawal of·peacekeepers created a vacuun1 in several fronts, ranging from security to livelihoods, economic to competing doctrinal influences, housing to reconstrnction work The exit strategies adopted by the United Nations and the Economic Community of West African States in Sien-a Leone and Liberia have made significant contributions to how future peacekeeping operations should be terminated especially in Africa. The manifestation of the challenges that confronted both organisations has demonstrated the need to address the adjoining and structural causes of exit strategies in peacekeeping operations. Both organisations must partner local authorities in the implementation of their policy fran1eworks to serve as a buffer to contain the effects associated with exit strategy.
Downloads
Download data is not yet available.
References
Abdullah, I. (ed) (2004). Between Democracy and Terror: The Sierra Leone Civil War.
Dakar: Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa.
Aboagye, F. B. (1999). ECOMOG, a sub-regional experience in conflict resolution, management and peacekeeping in Liberia, Accra: SEDCO.
Adebajo, A. (2011). UN peacekeeping in Africa: From the Suez crisis to the Sudan conflicts.
Johannesburg: Fanele.
Adebajo, A. & Keen, D. (2007). 'Sierra Leone', in Berdal, M & Economides, S. (eds.), United Nations Intervention, 1991-2004. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Adebajo, A. (2004). West Africa's security challenges: Building peace in a troubled region.
Boulder: Lynne Rienner.
Adebajo, A. (2002). Liberia's civil war: Nigeria, ECOMOG, and regional security in West Africa.
Boulder: Lynne Rienner.
Adebajo, A. & Rashid, I. 0. D. (2004). West Africa's security challenges: Building peace in a troubled region. Boulder: Lynne Rienner.
Adebajo, A. (2003}. Building Peace in West Africa: Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea Bissau.
Boulder: Lynne Rienner.
Adedeji, A. (2004). 'ECOWAS: A Retrospective Journey', in Adebajo, A. and Ismail, R. (eds.), West Africa's Security Challenges. Boulder: Lynne Rienner.
Agyeman, 0. (2003). The Failure of Grassroots Pan-Africanism: The case of the All African Trade Union Federation. Lanham: Lexington Books.
Alao, A., Mackinlay, J. & Olonisakin, F. (1999). Peacekeepers, Politicians, and Warlords: The Liberian Peace Process. New York: United Nations University Press.
Albert, 0. (2001). Introduction to third Party Intervention in Community Conflict in Nigeria, Ibadan: John Arches.
Alie, J. A. D. (2006). Sierra Leone Since Independence: History of A Postcolonial State. Accra: Africa Future Publishers.
Alie J. A. D. (2006). 'Background to the Conflict (1961-1991). What went wrong and why?' in Ayissi, A & Poulton, R. E. (eds.), Bound to Cooperate Conflict, Peace and People in Sierra Leone. Geneva: UNIDIR.
Alie, J. A. (1990). A new history of Sierra Leone. Londcin: Macmillan.
Aluko, 0. (1976). Ghana and Nigeria: 1957-70: A Study in Inter-African Discord, London: Rex Collings.
Anderson, V. & Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (2004). Research methods in human resource management. London: Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development.
Aning, E. K., Birikorang, E. & Jaye, T. (2010). Compendium of ECOWAS peace and security decisions: Protocols, declarations and peace agreements. Accra: Combert Impressions.
Aning, K. & Atuobi, S. (2012). 'ECOWAS, West Afi.ica and the Responsibility to Protect', in Knight, W. A. & Egerton, F. (ed.), The Routledge Handbook of the Responsibility to Protect. London: Routledge.
Aning, K. & Aubyn, F. (2013). 'Ghana', in Bellamy, A. J. & Williams, P. D. (ed.), Providing Peacekeepers: The Politics, Challenges and Future of United Nations Contributions, Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Aning, K. & McIntyre, A. R. (2005). 'From youth to rebellion to abduction: The anatomy of recruitment in Sierra Leone', in McIntyre, A. R. (ed.), Invisible stakeholders: Children and the war in Africa. Pretoria: ISS.
Annan, K. A., & Mousavizadeh, N. (2012). Interventions: A life in war and peace. New York: Penguin Press.
Aoi, C. (2011). Legitimacy and the use of armed force: stability missions in the post-Cold War era. New York: Routledge.
Asante, S. K. B. (1985). 'ECOWAS/CEAO: Conflict and Cooperation in West Africa,' in Onwuka, R. and Sesay, A. (eds.). The Future of Regionalism in Africa. London: Macmillan.
Asante, S. K. B. (1986). The Political Economy of Regionalism in Africa: A Decade of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). New York: Praeger.
Ayissi, A. N. (2000). Bound to cooperate: Conflict, peace and people in Sierra Leone. Geneva: UNIDIR.
Bah, S. A. (2012). 'Sierra Leone,' in Caplan, R. (ed.), Exit strategies and State building.
New York: Oxford University Press.
Bah, A. S. & Jones, B. D. (2008). Peace Operation partnerships: Lessons and Issues from Coordination to Hybrid Arrangements. Annual Review of Global Peace Operations. Center on International Cooperation. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Bangura, J. J., & Mustapha, M. (2010). Sierra Leone beyond the Lome Peace Accord.
New York: Palgrave Macmillan.
