Gay Mitchell
Question:48 Mr. G. Mitchell asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation in Liberia; and the way in which Ireland can help to alleviate conditions of hardship in that country.
Written Answers. - Liberian Conflict.
Nora Owen
Question:90 Mrs. Owen asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs if he will make a statement on the situation in Liberia; and the assistance, if any, Ireland has given or can give to alleviate the conditions of the people in that country.
Bernard J. Durkan
Question:97 Mr. Durkan asked the Tánaiste and Minister for Foreign Affairs whether he has received any recent reports on the situation in Liberia; and if he will make a statement on the matter.
I propose to take Questions Nos. 48, 90 and 97 together.
I am pleased to inform the House that in a communiqué issued on 15 February, the Liberian parties reaffirmed their commitment to the Cotonou Agreement as the basis for a lasting political settlement to the Liberian conflict. They agreed that disarmament would begin and that a transitional government would be installed on 7 March 1994 and that elections would be held on 7 Sepember 1994. I welcome the issuance of the communiqué and would urge all the parties to adhere to the timetable contained in it.
The United Nations Secretary General's report of 14 February outlines the progress of the United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia, UNOMIL. UNOMIL has now reached its full strength and deployment throughout the country is underway. The expansion of the Economic Community of West African States Monitoring Group, ECOMOG, has been long called for and I am happy to note in the Secretary-General's report that battalions from Tanzania and Uganda arrived in Monrovia in January. Consultations are continuing with Zimbabwe for the deployment of their troops. This progress in the deployment of both the UNOMIL observers and of the additional ECOMOG troops is indeed to be welcomed. Progress in other areas includes the establishment of an elections commission, which consists of representatives of the three Liberian parties, to organise and to carry out the elections.
This progress should not obscure the many difficulties which remain in Liberia. Fighting continues in a number of regions, which has led to the loss of lives, destruction of property and the displacement of many people. The impediments to access for humanitarian supplies in certain areas is a matter for concern also.
In 1993 the Government provided £55,000 from the Emergency Humanitarian Assistance Fund for Liberian Refugees in Sierra Leone. A further £19,000 was provided through the NGO cofinancing scheme to projects providing care for children displaced by the conflict. I readily accept that the humanitarian situation in Liberia, and the large influx of Liberian refugees into neighbouring states, remains a cause for concern. Accordingly, the Government is favourably disposed to continuing to make funds available for relief operations in Liberia and the other countries affected. Ireland continues to closely monitor developments in Liberia.