UNITED NATIONS OFFICE OF THE RESIDENT COORDINATOR IN LIBERIA 10 March 2006 Dear Mr. Malloch Brown, Please find enclosed the Annual Report of the Resident Coordinator for 2005 addressed to the Secretary-General. Yours sincerely, Jordan Ryan United Nations Resident Coordinator in Liberia Mr. Mark Malloch Brown Chef de Cabinet Executive Office of the Secretary-General United Nations New York
UNITED NATIONS OFFICE OF THE RESIDENT COORDINATOR IN LIBERIA Dear Mr. Secretary-General, 28 February 2006 Subject: RC Annual Report for 2005 On behalf of the UN Country Team (UNCT) in Liberia I am pleased to submit to you the RC Annual Report for 2005, a year of significant change for the country and the UN actors working here. Main events In 2005 Liberia continued to be characterized by weak governance and a virtual absence of a formal economy, with most of the population living well under the poverty line and with no access to basic social services. Nevertheless, the situation showed signs of improvement especially in terms of security - allowing the country to gradually transition from the relief phase to a recovery and development setting. The Presidential and Legislative elections were perhaps the most momentous event of the year, with an impressive 74.9% of the 1.35 million registered voters participating in the first round on 11 October. Mrs. Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf was ultimately declared as the winner following a runoff on 8 November, becoming the first woman in Africa to be democratically elected as president. Some of her success may be attributed to the active participation of women in the elections, who made up over 50% of registered voters. On the humanitarian front, more than 40,000 refugees and nearly 300,000 Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) were provided with assistance to support their return. As the bulk of the displaced came home, attention shifted to restarting basic services through communitybased recovery programs in the rural areas. To support these and other urgent needs, a consolidated humanitarian appeal was prepared and launched in December. On 16 September the Chairman of the National Transitional Government of Liberia (NTGL) deposited 103 treaty actions at the annual treaty event in New York, which you yourself hailed as "a landmark in Liberia's journey away from a difficult past and towards a more tenable future." The UNCT pledged to provide the Government with strong support to fulfill the wide range of new treaty obligations. A number of high-level visits took place in 2005. These included that of Ms. Louise Arbour, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (9-13 July, assessing the observance of human rights in Liberia); Ms. Imelda Henkin, UNFPA Deputy Executive Director (22-27 May, reviewing national priorities); OCHA Geneva's Internal Displacement Division (8-22 May and 20-25 November, reviewing progress made in IDP returns and introducing the humanitarian reform process to Liberia); and Mr. Alioune Sail, Director of African Futures Institute (12-17 July, supporting the development of a national socio-political vision for Liberia). The Secretary-General United Nations New York
Summary of progress on UN reform Progress towards achieving the UNDAF outcomes On 27 September the UNCT held its first CCA/UNDAF Teambuilding Retreat, which was opened by Mr. Alan Doss, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Liberia. He used the opportunity to outline the UN's strategic vision in the country and stress the importance of close collaboration between the UNCT and the peacekeeping mission. The CCA document is due to be completed in the first quarter of 2006, and will assist the Government in the preparation of its own national development strategy. The UNDAF will be elaborated after the presentation of the strategy during 2006, to ensure it will be aligned with the national development priorities. Progress in support of the government in preparation, implementation, and revision ofmdg-based national development strategies Although Liberia's 2004 MDG Report (launched in 2005) described the country's chances of reaching the targets by 2015 as either weak or unlikely, last year did see significant progress being made in a number of MDG areas of focus. In October the Urban Sector Profile Survey commenced as a collaborative effort between UN-Habitat and the Government. The study aims to assess the state of urban environments as part of data gathering ahead of the development of the Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (IPRSP). The incidence of extreme hunger was reduced through emergency feeding programmes conducted by WFP and various NGOs in the most vulnerable communities of Liberia, reaching over half a million beneficiaries each day. Interventions also took place in the agriculture sector, with 15,000 war-affected farmers (including returnees and excombatants) receiving seeds, tools, fishing equipment and training through a joint UNDP/FAO programme. The right of all children to education was supported by the efforts of UNICEF and UNESCO, which included the delivery of basic learning materials for 450,000 students to almost 2,000 public schools throughout the country, training of teachers and capacity building for staff at the Ministry of Education. National programmes to combat HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases were advanced with significant support from the Global Fund in the form of increased drug supplies, expanded awareness raising and improved access to testing facilities. Case management for HTV/AIDS was strengthened with the introduction of a new national protocol for HIV-ARV care, together with the instruction of doctors and nurses on the use of ARV and the training of HIV/AIDS counselors. Meanwhile, 519 health facility workers, 30 laboratory technicians and 2,993 community health workers were trained in malaria case management. UNICEF and WHO (with logistical support from UNMIL) reactivated disease surveillance and the routine Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI) throughout the country. Four rounds of national immunization days (NIDs) were successfully completed, targeting over one million children under five years of age. Support was also provided to the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare for the development of guidelines on Integrated Management of Childhood Illness (IMCI).
Progress in support of national partners' efforts towards capacity development On the national level, the UN system assisted in the articulation of several key policy documents in the areas of Youth, Education, Gender, HTV/AIDS, Health, and Governance Reform. Some of the most notable were the National Youth Policy, which received strong support from UNDP, UNICEF, UNFPA and UNMIL as well as the National Policy on Girls' Education, which was buttressed by UNICEF and UNESCO. 2005 saw the launch of District Development Committees (DDCs), local governance structures designed to promote participatory planning by involving traditional leaders and ordinary citizens in the decision making process, with most of the financial resources coming from UNDP and UNHCR. DDCs play a key role in the community-based recovery process and, it is hoped, will ultimately form the foundation of a broader Government decentralization policy. The Governance Reform Commission (GRC) received significant support from UNDP to oversee the carrying out of the Civil Service Census as well as the development of the Code of Coduct for Public Officials and the Rules and Regulations of the Civil Service. Capacity building for local actors was provided as part of the UNDP/UNESCO African Leadership Initiative. Throughout the year large-scale assistance was provided to the National Elections Commission (NEC) as it geared up for the presidential and legislative ballot. UNMIL and UNDP supported the NEC logistically and administratively, as well as conducting a nationwide voter education campaign. Following the elections, UNDP organized workshops introducing new legislators to their roles and to the workings of parliament. To promote better design and targeting of humanitarian and development interventions, the UN family assisted the Government in conducting vulnerability assessments in a number of urban and rural areas. Data was collected on food security, nutrition, health, water and sanitation, shelter, education and employment levels. A id Effectiveness Representatives of the NTGL, the UN, the World Bank, ECOWAS and donors gathered in Copenhagen from 9 to 10 May for the Results Focused Transition Framework (RFTF) Annual Technical Meeting. The objective was to assess the effectiveness of the RFTF as the principle planning tool for Liberia's recovery during the transition period, and to review its achievements to date. Although it recognized the significant progress that had been made in advancing Liberia's reconstruction, the meeting also criticized the NTGL for its weak fiscal management and failure to effectively address systemic corruption. This sentiment was echoed during a special one-day session to discuss the results of the European Commission's audits of key NTGL institutions involved in revenue collection and allocation, which followed directly after the Annual Technical Meeting. These findings prompted Liberia's development partners to put forward the Governance and Economic Management Assistance Programme (GEMAP), finally agreed to by the NTGL on 9 September following four months of negotiations. The GEMAP is designed to strengthen leadership, transparency, integrity and accountability on issues of economic governance and fiscal management. It does so by introducing much tighter controls over the national revenue accrual and disbursement mechanisms, and by supporting these mechanisms through capacity building and the deployment of international experts in key government ministries and institutions. The GEMAP is expected to play a central role in helping Liberia kick start its national recovery process. Phone: +231 226-195 Fax: t231 226-210
Experience with joint planning and coordination The joint presence of the UN in Liberia continues to be broadly shaped by the "integrated mission" model. The UNCT has worked closely with the peacekeeping mission since UNMIL's arrival in October 2003, under the guidance of a combined Resident Coordinator and Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General. It has continued to provide inputs into the Secretary-General's periodic progress reports on Liberia, and is regularly consulted during the process of updating the mission's Mandate Implementation Plan. Likewise, UNMIL's inputs were sought during the preparation of this report. The mission and the UNCT also undertook a number of joint initiatives, chief among them being a series of contingency planning workshops to address the potential threats associated with an outbreak of avian influenza and a deterioration of the situation in Cote d'lvoire. Another key area of cooperation between the mission and several of the agencies has been the ongoing provision of return assistance to IDPs. The process is led by UNMIL, UNHCR and WFP, who form part of the IDP Consultative Forum, a coordination mechanism with a broad membership that includes the Government and several key NGOs. To better address the needs of returning IDPs and refugees, UNDP, UNICEF, WFP and UNHCR, in consultation with other UN agencies and UNMIL, combined efforts to develop the Joint Action Plan for Community-Based Recovery and Restoration of Social Services (CBR-JAcP). The initiative aims at promoting integrated planning of recovery programmes at the county and district level, whilst encouraging active involvement of communities and local authorities in the process. In October, the four ExCom Agencies (UNDP, UNFPA, UNICEF and WFP) agreed to simplify and harmonize their programme cycles by 2008. This is one year later than initially proposed, and the extension has been introduced to allow the new Government adequate time for the articulation of the country's needs and priorities and subsequent design of a national strategy. Other joint initiatives of the Country Team members included the recruitment of a UNCT Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Officer and the establishment of the related In-Country Network as well as the activation of a Gender Theme Group. Key aspects of the 2006 Work Plan and linkages to ongoing issues in the country In 2006 we will be assisting the new Government to undertake a strategic shift from post-war relief to a recovery and development paradigm. In the immediate term, we must find ways to help the large proportion of the population still living in abject poverty as a result of the conflict. To this end, we will support the Government to make urgent reforms in key policy areas, to ensure that national systems such as health and education are pro-poor and address the needs of the most vulnerable members of society. The UNCT will also work closely with its partners on the preparation of national poverty reduction tools such as the IPRSP. All progress made to date has been possible only thanks to the country's return to peace. It is therefore essential that our interventions help Liberian actors to address the root causes of conflict, like corruption, unequal distribution of national wealth or abuse of power. We will continue to support mechanisms such as the nascent DDCs, which encourage devolution of control from the central Government while at the same time ensuring everyone at the local level can participate in decision making. Good governance requires strong civil society, which we plan to strengthen further through a variety of capacity building measures, specifically targeting youth and women's groups. The creation of development opportunities for the youth will also remain as an area
of special focus, due to the significant impact which this section of the population can have on national recovery and reconciliation efforts. Finally, it must be acknowledged that none of these objectives can be met without the necessary resources. While we are counting on the goodwill and professionalism of the new administration under President Johnson-Sirleaf, we cannot expect them to perform miracles. The current national budget is woefully inadequate for meeting the enormous challenge of rebuilding this country - Liberia needs support, and a lot of it. We are counting on you to help us carry this message to the donors, as you have done in the past. Recommendations for changes in policies, rules and regulations Despite our mandate to promote greater coherence and cooperation, Resident Coordinators continue to lack the means to significantly influence the activities of UN Country Team members. Currently, we are largely limited to exchanging information as the primary way of ensuring that efforts are not duplicated and opportunities for synergy are seized upon. As a result, the goal of greater coordination within the UNCT remains elusive, as illustrated by the difficulties encountered even when soliciting funds from the agencies for such important common initiatives as SEA awareness and prevention. I would therefore propose that serious consideration be given to expanding the authority and budgetary resources placed at the disposal of the RC, including the funding of additional staff in the RC's support office. We would be pleased to offer Liberia as a test case or pilot for even deeper UN reform, if it were to be accompanied by sufficient authority and meaningful resources. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank my predecessors for their efforts towards enhancing cooperation between the many UN actors in Liberia. Specifically, I want to extend my thanks to Mr. Abou Moussa, the previous RC who departed in August to assume his new duties as Principle Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General in Cote d'lvoire, as well as Mr. Steven Ursino, the UNDP Country Director, and Ms. Angela Kearney, the UNICEF Country Representative, who served as RC a.i. until my appointment as of 1 January 2006. On behalf of the entire UNCT, I would also like to express out thanks to UNDO and DGO for their consistent support. We look forward to another year of excellent cooperation as we help Liberia advance on the road to sustainable development. Yours sincerely, YA^CI^, i^ ~ «w*->, \/c~' 0 Jordan Rvai Ryan United Nations Resident Coordinator in Liberia cc: Ms. Sally Fegan-Wyles, Director, DGO Mr. Alan Doss, SRSG, UNMIL UNCT Members in Liberia