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Note: This document may not always reflect the actual appropriations determined by Congress. Final budget allocations for USAID's programs are not determined until after passage of an appropriations bill and preparation of the Operating Year Budget (OYB).

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LIBERIA

FY 1998 Development Fund for Africa	. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	$7,500,000
FY 1998 P.L. 480 Title II	. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .	$72,403,000

Introduction

Due to the amended peace agreement signed in Abuja, Nigeria, in August 1996, Liberia has the chance to pull itself out its seven-year civil war that has devastated the country. Human suffering resulting from the conflict has been enormous. An estimated 300,000 people, most of them civilians, have been killed or maimed during the course of the conflict. Approximately 740,000 Liberians are refugees in neighboring countries, an estimated 1.2 million are displaced within the country and thousands have fled to the United States. The war has also destroyed the nation's infrastructure, including schools, clinics, and private dwellings. Since 1990, U.S. assistance, totaling over $450 million through FY 1996, has centered on emergency relief efforts. Under the general coordination of UN agencies, USAID has concentrated on the needs of the displaced population and vulnerable groups.

Ending the Liberian conflict is important to the national interest of the U.S. First, the Liberian civil war is the primary threat to West Africa regional stability; its continuance will adversely affect neighboring states while hindering regional economic development. Second, we have steadfastly supported the Economic Community of West Africa States' (ECOWAS) peace process which is consistent with our policy of promoting regional solutions for regional problems. The ECOWAS peace plan, in that it call for free and fair elections, is also consonant with a primary U.S. policy objective of democratization. Further, the United States and Liberia have enjoyed a unique relationship based on the founding of that West African nation by freed slaves nearly 150 years ago. The U.S. relationship with Liberia is our longest with any sub-saharan nation and our continued involvement in Liberia is an important signal of our commitment and interest in Africa.

The Development Challenge

Before the war, Liberia showed real sustainable development promise. If peace and stability return, the country may well become one of Africa's better performing developing states. However, the damage caused by the war has been staggering. Liberia's pre-war population was 2.5 million people. About three-quarters of a million now live as refugees, mostly in neighboring countries. At least one million more are internally displaced persons, fleeing the fighting or the deprivation resulting from it. The war has laid waste to Liberia's economy. Only petty commerce and the non-formal sector show any vibrancy. Food production is down by 70% from pre-war levels. The country's rich natural resources, including rubber trees and other valuable stands, deposits of precious metals and minerals, plentiful rainfall, and rich topsoil, have been exploited by the major warring factions.

After a major outbreak of factional violence in Monrovia in April-May 1996, the peace process was revived in August 1996 with the signing of the revised Abuja agreement. The agreement provides for disarmament under the aegis of the Economic Community of West African States' Monitoring Group, demobilization and reintegration of fighters with the help of the United Nations and the donor community and national elections by May 31, 1997.

Other Donors

The European Union (EU) has an aid coordination office in Monrovia and an assistance program for the country totalling about $30,000,000 in FY 1997. USAID and the EU are working hand-in-hand in country, particularly on organizing post-demobilization, reintegration, and resettlement programs but also in carrying out humanitarian assistance activities. Several other donors have provided aid to Liberia. The Dutch Government has furnished over 60 trucks for use by the Economic Community of West African States' Monitoring Group (ECOMOG), offered $3 million for demobilization andreintegration activities and assist with ECOMOG's troop augmentation; Germany has provided approximately 35 trucks for peacekeeping; the British have provided communications equipment for the disarmament and demobilization process; the Japanese are providing approximately $10 million in food assistance; and the Canadians have pledged approximately $14 million for humanitarian assistance and food aid. Several other European donors are providing funding through UN agencies or international non-governmental organizations for carrying out relief programs.

FY 1998 Program.

The current USAID program was in response to the human tragedy created by the civil war. U.S. policy and assistance to Liberia has been to seek a return to peace and a democratic government, while simultaneously providing relief for the victims of the war. USAID is developing a two-year post-crisis strategy, to be implemented in the FY 1998-99 period. Plans are to build on the partnerships already established with international and local private and non-government organizations in Liberia. To consolidate the transition from emergency to recovery, USAID will implement reintegration, rehabilitation and democratization programs.

USAID's strategy for a successful transition to socio-economic recovery and sustainable development concentrates on reintegrating communities through reviving private sector activities, particularly in agriculture, and fostering democratic processes at both the national and local levels.

Agency Goal: Building Democracy

Under a USAID-funded grant, the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES) was prepared to open an office in Monrovia in FY 1996 to assist the Liberia Elections Commission, the United Nations, the European Union and others with elections preparations. That plan was thwarted by the violence that broke out in April. With a new peace agreement is in place, and disarmament underway, IFES intends to establish a presence in Monrovia, preferably in January 1997. Efforts are also underway to establish a consortium of nongovernmental organizations, led by IFES, to implement democratization programs in Liberia. The consortium would help consolidate accomplishments made by the Carter Center using funds from an earlier grant which expired at the end of FY 1996. These accomplishments include: (a) the creation of the Liberian Network for Peace and Development, comprised of indigenous non-governmental organizations working to revitalize civil society at the grassroots level; (b) the promotion of conflict resolution, mediation, and reconciliation, through the Liberian Initiative for Peace-Building and Conflict Resolution, a group of influential Liberians; and (c) the provision of support for IFES and others working on preparations for a national election. The proposed consortium also aims to introduce media campaigns, civic education programs, and other initiatives in support of reconciliation, human rights, democracy, and post-war democratic consolidation. The IFES-led consortium program proposed for FY 1998 will concentrate on post-election follow-up, including the possibility of local elections.

Strategic Objective 1: Successful Democratic Transition including Free and Fair National Elections

Agency Goal: Encouraging Broad-based Economic Growth

USAID was geared to launch a community revitalization program in early April 1996 as a crucial step in Liberia's recovery, when the factional violence erupted in Monrovia. To keep pace with the new peace implementation schedule, transition assistance must stress immediate post-demobilization activities preparing ex-combatants and civilians for community reintegration, resettlement, and repatriation. USAID is funding these post-demobilization "bridging" activities from several accounts, including those managed by the USAID Bureau for Humanitarian Response's Offices of Food for Peace, Foreign Disaster Assistance, and Transition Initiatives, the Global Bureau, and the Africa Bureau. Post-demobilization bridging activities feature Civil Reconstruction Teams (CRTs) to create public works employment for both ex-combatants and civilians. The CRT projects, managed through a USAID grantto the UN Office for Project Services (UNOPS), include: clearing roads, cleaning up towns and villages, reclaiming agricultural lands, and refurbishing public facilities, such as schools, clinics, and markets. In cooperation with other funding agencies, USAID plans to transform this bridging program into the community-based resettlement, reintegration, and repatriation initiative, as security and stability improve around the country. This initiative will be carried out by Area Recovery and Development Centers (ARDCs) which will manage "micro-projects" based on local initiative. In the process, the ARDCs will promote decentralized local administrative structures that accommodate community participation and self-reliance.

Strategic Objective 2:

Successful Transition from Relief to Recovery through a Community Reintegration Program

Agency Goal: Stabilizing Population Growth and Protecting Human Health

The $1,000,000 requested under this goal will all be used for health activities. USAID is providing rehabilitation assistance for ex-child soldiers and other youth traumatized by the war. The Liberian branch of Opportunities Industrialization Center, International and the United Nations International Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) implement community-based projects that provide trauma counseling, family tracing and reunification, nonformal education, skills development, for demobilized child soldiers and other youth. Implementing partners include two local UNICEF sub-grantees, the Childrens Assistance Program and the Salesian Missions-Don Bosco school system, and the international NGO Save the Children Fund. The proposed USAID/Liberia program for FY 1998 will provide continuing support for the key components of the community reintegration, resettlement, and repatriation program through grants to UNICEF, or a private voluntary organization consortium ("umbrella" arrangement) or a combination of those potential grantees.

In March 1997, USAID and the European Union will assess the impact and appropriateness of current emergency health activities. Recommendations from the assessment will be used to develop a post-recovery health and medical intervention strategy for Liberia.

Strategic Objective 2:

Successful Transition from Relief to Recovery through a Community Reintegration Program

Agency Goal: Providing Humanitarian Assistance

The objective of using humanitarian assistance to support the transition from relief to recovery is pursued through disaster relief grants and a P.L. 480 II program in which Catholic Relief Service, the cooperating sponsor, provides targeted food aid for distribution at community reintegration centers. Financial assistance will also be provided to cash-crop farmers to increase rural productivity and generate employment through Catholic Relief Service, Africare, and Lutheran World Vision.

Strategic Objective 2:

Successful Transition from Relief to Recovery through a Community Reintegration Program

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LIBERIA

FY 1998 PROGRAM SUMMARY

	Encouraging Broad-based Economic Growth	Stabilizing Population Growth and Protecting Human Health	Protecting the Environment	Building Democracy	Providing Humanitarian Assistance	TOTALS
USAID Strategic Objectives
1. Successful Democratic Transition including Free and Fair Elections - Dev. Fund for Africa	---	---	---	2,000,000	---	2,000,000
2. Successful Transition from Relief to Recovery through a Community Reintegration Program - Dev. Fund for Africa - P.L. 480, Title II	4,500,000 ---	1,000,000 ---	--- ---	--- ---	--- 72,403,000	5,500,000 72,403,000
Total - Dev. Fund for Africa - P.L. 480, Title II	4,500,000 ---	1,000,000 ---	--- ---	2,000,000 ---	--- 72,403,000	7,500,000 72,403,000

USAID Representative: Lowell E. Lynch

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ACTIVITY DATA SHEET

PROGRAM: Liberia

TITLE AND NUMBER: Democratic Transition Support - 669-01A1

STATUS: Continuing

PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 1998: $2,000,000 DFA

INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1997; ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 1999

Purpose: To enable a successful democratic transition in post-crisis Liberia, including post-election consolidation of democratization gains.

Background: The Liberian civil war, even with all its horrors, offers an opportunity to carry out a political reconstruction process based on the establishment of democracy and good governance. The faction leaders have agreed, and made their agreement explicit in the signing in August 1996 of the revised Abuja peace accord, that a democratic national election is to be an integral part of the transition from civil crisis to recovery. The power-sharing governance arrangements incorporated in the two Liberian National Transitional Governments, while clearly far from perfect, have at least raised questions about the country's pre-war political processes and systems. The war has also exacerbated existing political problems and created new ones, however, and establishing real democracy and good governance will be a major challenge. In the crisis to date, USAID/Liberia has provided democratization assistance through grants to the Carter Center of Emory University (CCEU) and the International Foundation for Election Systems (IFES).

USAID Role and Achievements to Date: USAID's support includes rebuilding civil society, promoting conflict resolution, mediation, and reconciliation, conducting media campaigns on democracy and human rights, and providing support for elections. The CCEU grant made several important contributions to the search for peace and to the beginnings of a democratic transition in Liberia: CCEU officials participated in several negotiating conferences and other aspects of the peace process; the Carter Center was instrumental in the creation of the Liberian Network for Peace and Development; CCEU underwrote the attendance of the Liberian Interfaith Mediation Committee at the peace talks in Cotonou, Benin, in July 1993; six Liberian NGO representatives were sponsored to attend a training and workshop program in Atlanta in October 1993; a peace-building workshop was conducted in Akosombo, Ghana, that led to the creation of the Liberian Initiative for Peace-Building and Conflict Resolution; and the Carter Center organized a mission in July 1994 led by Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa to encourage Liberian leaders to redouble their efforts in the peace process. In addition, President Carter has effectively intervened at various levels to promote the peace process. A consortium of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) led by IFES is being put together to follow up on the democratization groundwork laid by these accomplishments. IFES is also about to open an office in Monrovia to provide technical assistance to the Election Commission and other organizations involved in preparations for a national election as stipulated by the Abuja peace agreement.

Description: The USAID program will focus on four activity areas: conflict resolution, mediation, and reconciliation; human rights; democratization; and post-election democratic consolidation. Funding is to be channeled through a consortium of U.S. NGOs.

Host Country and Other Donors: The United Nations Development Planning office is planning to provide funding and technical assistance for the national election, and that agency may also contribute to post-election democracy and governance activities. The only other major donor in country, the European Union, is also actively considering the provision of assistance in this area, including funding for the election.

Beneficiaries: Local NGOs and other organizations constituting civil society will be the main direct beneficiaries. The ultimate beneficiaries will be the people of Liberia.

Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: USAID will implement these activities through a consortium of several U.S. private voluntary organizations, led by the International Foundation for Elections Systems. The Carter Center of Emory University, the National Democratic Institute, the International Republican Institute, the African Leadership Forum, the Friends of Liberia, and the African-American Institute may be included in the umbrella arrangement.

Major Results Indicators: To be determined.

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ACTIVITY DATA SHEET

PROGRAM: Liberia

TITLE AND NUMBER: Community Reintegration Assistance, 669-02A3

STATUS: Continuing

PROPOSED OBLIGATION AND FUNDING SOURCE: FY 1998: $ 5,500,000 DFA; $72,403,000 P.L. 480 Title II

INITIAL OBLIGATION: FY 1997; ESTIMATED COMPLETION DATE: FY 2000

Purpose: To enable a successful transition from relief to recovery in post-crisis Liberia by supporting resettlement, reintegration, and repatriation of internally displaced persons, ex-combatants and refugee-returnees into their home communities upcountry.

Background: Hundred of thousands of Liberians have been completely dislocated and most of the country outside the capital city of Monrovia devastated by the seven-year civil war. The humanitarian assistance provided during the course of the crisis has been intended to reduce the dislocation and other suffering resulting from the conflict. Now that a peace process is underway, the focus of USAIDs assistance needs to shift to aiding the transition to rehabilitation, recovery and, ultimately, sustainable development. Pre-war Liberia was essentially an agrarian society and economy, and rural revitalization primarily through investments in community-based, productive-sector micro-projects upcountry are crucial to peace, stability, and recovery. Support for the resettlement, reintegration, and repatriation effort will be the main thrust of USAID programs for FY 1998 and the medium term thereafter.

USAID Role and Achievements to Date: USAID transition resources are currently being used to support immediate post-demobilization "bridging" activities to begin preparing ex-combatants and their compatriots for the community reintegration, resettlement, and repatriation program. The post-demobilization activities feature public works projects to employ both ex-combatants and civilians. The projects include clearing roads, cleaning up towns and villages, reclaiming agricultural lands, and performing simple repairs of public facilities, such as schools, clinics, and markets.

In cooperation with other funding agencies, USAID plans to transform this bridging program into the community-based resettlement, reintegration, and repatriation initiative, as security and stability improve around the country. This initiative will be carried out through the establishment of Area Recovery and Development Centers (ARDCs) to facilitate community revitalization and reassimilation primarily through the implementation of "micro-projects" based on local initiative. The USAID portfolio for Liberia contains other programs that complement the bridging and ARDC initiatives. Those programs include vocational training projects, food aid, and disaster relief grants for emergency health care, water, sanitation, and seeds and tools distribution activities. USAID is also investigating the possibility of providing financial support to private cash-crop farmers to generate more sustainable employment and increase productivity in the rural areas.

Description: The USAID/Liberia program for FY 1998 will concentrate on the resettlement, reintegration, and repatriation effort. That effort will include a national micro-projects program to fund small-scale, labor-intensive, capital-saving projects that are identified, designed and implemented by communities upcountry. The reintegration portfolio will also include a continuation of support for the vocational training program of the Liberia branch of the Opportunities Industrialization Centers, with the possible addition of a grant to other implementers such as the Salesian Missions-Don Bosco vocational training operation. Funding is to be channeled through international NGOs and UN agencies, possibly using an umbrella project mechanism in some cases. The USAID-sponsored support for children severely affected by the war will also, through an extension of the United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund grant or provision of funding to other implementing partners, or both.

Host Country and Other Donors: The only other major donor in-country, the European Union, is a full partner in the community revitalization program, serving as the other main sponsor of the bridging initiative. The United Nations Humanitarian Assistance Coordination Office is also arranging fundingfor the bridging program. The United Nations Development Planning Office is planning to provide funding for the national micro-projects program, and that agency is also considering a contribution to other parts of the reintegration program.

Beneficiaries: Communities, local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and other organizations constituting civil society upcountry will be the main direct beneficiaries. The ultimate beneficiaries will be the demobilized ex-combatants, the resettled internally displaced persons, and the repatriated refugee-returnees.

Principal Contractors, Grantees, or Agencies: USAID will implement these activities through grants to several U.S. and other expatriate NGOs, international organizations, and UN agencies, including Catholic Relief Services, Lutheran World Service, the Liberia Branch of the Opportunities Industrialization Centers, United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund, and the United Nations Office for Project Services. An umbrella project arrangement may be developed among some or all of them.

Major Result Indicators: To be determined.

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