DELTA STATE UNIVERSITY, ABRAKA

GST 113
PEACE STUDIES & CONFLICT RESOLUTION
__________________________________________
CHAPTER FOUR
WOMEN AND YOUTH IN POST-CONFLICT PEACE BUILDING
PROCESS: A CASE STTUDY OF THE MANO RIVER AREA
By
DR. (MRS) J. AKPOTOR
FACULTY OF SOCIAL SCIENCES
DEPARTMENT OF SOCIOLOGY
• INTRODUCTION
• Liberia and Sierra Leone, both countries are located
in the Mano River Area.
• Historically, Sierra Leone and Liberia were members
of the defunct Mano River Union (MRU)
• MRU, an economic co-operation, shares linguistic
and cultural affinities.
• Apart from other groups with difference religion,
culture, language, Americo-Liberia, black decendant
from US constitute 3% of Liberia population and
dominate politically.
• WHAT LED TO CCONFLICT
• Decades of mismanagement
• Corruption
• Worsen political &
• Economic problems
• Marginalization of young people and children
• All the above drove rebels to take up arms.
• OVERVIE OF SOCIO-ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL FACTORS
• Both countries have the youngest population
• Sierra Leone over 60% of youths
• Liberia have 45%
• Long dependent on mineral resources in 1950s inhibited the
economies
• Groups (commoners) felt marginalized
• This provided fertile grounds for youth restiveness
• Outbreak of hostilities between the Revolutionary United Front
and the Government in 1991
• In Sierra Leone, youths, mostly students spearheaded the war to
articulate their demands
• In Liberia, socio-political and economic
discrimination against indegen by the affluent
Creoles descendant. This led to the violence
which broke out in 1980.
• No improvement in the lot of the youth during
the new military regime of Samuel Deo
• This led to Charles Taylor taking up arms
against Deo in a civil war which lasted for
fourteen years.
• WOMEN AND YOUTH IN CONFLICT RESOLUTION AND
PEACE-BUILDING PROCESS: THE CASE OF THE MANO
RIVER AREA
• Women and young people are most vulnerable in
conflict situation. Thus they are important in conflict
resolution.
• Women constitute 53% of the agricultural labour force,
produce 60% of all gricultural products in Liberia and
comprise 77% of entrepreneurs.
• Women and youths in both countries were perpetrators
and victims of the violence that engulfed the Mano
River Area.
• Women and youths were crucial to both conflict
resolution and peace building process in both
countries because of their active role and
participation in political violence.
• PANOPLY OF WOMEN ORGANIZATION AND NGOs IN
CONLICT RESOLUTION & PEACE BUILDING.
• MARWOPNET – Mano River Women Peace Network
• WIPENT – Women in Peace Network
• SLWF – Sierra Leone Women’s Forum
• WANEP – West Africa Network for Peace-Building
• FAWE – Forum of Africa Women Educationists
• NWMP – Network of Women Ministers and Parliamentarians.
• Sierra Leone Women Movement for Peace
• National Youth Peace Symposium
• The National Youth for Non-Violence Campaign in Elections
• WOMEN - Women Organization for a Morally Enlightene Nation
• THEIR IMPACTS
• WIPNET- they acted as intermediaries in meetings between
Charles Taylor and the rebel leaders in Liberia
• The confronted the rebel directly by spearheading the “Women
of Liberia Mass Action for Peace Campaign
• WIPNET- demystified the 2003 Accra Comprehensive Peace
Agreement (CPA) and this ended the Liberia Civil War.
• WIPNET also mobilized over 7,500 women to vote in the
election to usher in civilian rule.
• MARWOPNET also launched an Active Non-
Violence and Conflict Transformation Programme
for youth in and around Monrovia, Liberia capital
• the above initiative, 27 youths conflict mediation
structures, 3 peace clubs in 45 schools and 154
communities in Monrovia.
• In addition 650 students and 450 communities
were provided with opportunities to peace
ambassadors in Moronvia
MARWOPNET- they worked tirelessly to
consolidate peace in Liberia by providing skill-
based training in different trades. e.g. training
seamstresses and providing tools for them for
sustainable development and gender equality.
Mobilization of women legal experts to protect
children and women’s right
• SLWF- they raised public awareness of the 1999
Lome Peace Accord (LPA) signed between
government and the RUF rebels
SLWF- demanded for more women involvement in
during disarmament, demobilization and
reintegration process.
DDR – disarmament demobilization and
reintegration
SLWF – staged public marches to advocte for
peace and security and bring the warring parties
to a negotiating table
• NYPS – National Youth Peace Symposium mobilized 100
youth leaders for 3 days of training on conflict resolution
and peace building
• This they did by engaging RUF commanders in
constructive dialogue.
• The National Youth for Non-violence Campaign in Election
engaged over 1000 youth to advocate for non-violence
among their peer during election in Sierra Leone.
• All these were effort made by women and youth that
brought peace to the warring nations (Liberia and Sierra
Leone).
• REWARDS/SIDELINED
• Liberia women actively engaged in efforts to end
the civil war and post war reconstruction thus,
they were given more roles such as Ministers,
Parliamentarians and Superintendents
• High point, is election of the First Female
President of Liberia, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf.
• SIERRA LEONE WOMEN/YOUTH SIDELINED
• In Sierra Leone, women and youth effort to
bringing the 11 years conflict to an end was not
rewarded rather they were sidelined.
• They were marginalized
• Only 5 women were on the list of 68 candidates
for elections on the platform of the Sierra
Leone’s People Party (SLPP)
The 1996 Machel Report and 1999 Lome
Agreement clearly favoured both children and
youth but still youth were neglected during
the DDR (disarmament, demobilization and
reintegration) process.

The blurred line between children and youth

resulted to the neglect of youth who were
discharged as adult soldiers, i.e. ex-
combatants.
• SIERRA LEONE SIDELINED CONT’
• The specific needs of the youth such as
specialized therapy for psychological trauma
suffered during the early years of recruitment
were absent.
• Despite the huge resources donated by
international agencies in line with DDR process,
rehabilitation of infrastructures such s schools,
roads, clinics etc were there focus.
• The felt needs of the youths and women were
not granted.
• SIERRA LEONE SIDELINED CONT’
• Again, the youth were excluded from voting in both
countries on the ground of age in a process that they
help to give birth to.
• Invoking the universal suffrage, which is 18 years.
• Thus many youths could not exercise franchise.
• Till today Sierra Leone is living in fear of many Idle
youth roaming the street as they are prone to violence.
This is due to failure to design appropriate policies to
cater for the majority of the country’s population (the
youth).
• CONCLUSION
• Women and youths were rewarded bountifully
in Liberia while in Sierra Leone they were
deprived, disenfranchised and neglected.
• These neglect and deprivation has become a
threat to the sustainability of the peace in the
Mano River Area.