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UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 14 (Xinhua) -- The UN Security Council on Wednesday extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) through the end of the year.
The UN body reaffirmed its readiness to consider withdrawing the operation and transitioning to a future UN presence there following a proposed mid-November review of situation on the ground in the West Africa country.
A new resolution, unanimously adopted by the 15-nation UN body, gave a green light to the extension of the UNMIL mandate through Dec. 31 and decided that the authorized ceilings of the UN mission's military and police components should remain at 1240 and 606 personnel, respectively.
Affirming its readiness to consider the withdrawal of UNMIL and transition to a future United Nations presence, the Security Council recalled its request that UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon conduct an assessment mission to Liberia to provide recommendations by Nov. 15, including an update on the proposed modalities regarding the transfer of the regional quick reaction force.
UNMIL was set up in 2003 by the Security Council to bolster a ceasefire agreement after a civil war in Liberia killed almost 150,000 Liberians -- mostly civilians -- and forced some 850,000 others to flee to neighboring countries.
Briefing the Council in late August, Farid Zarif, the special representative of the secretary-general and head of UNMIL, said many Liberians are concerned about the prospect of the UN mission's withdrawal and potential lack of UN support during the October 2017 presidential and legislative elections.
"There is a consensus among national actors that the next elections will be a critical test for Liberia's stability, democracy and development," Zarif said.
The UN envoy emphasized that both the government of Liberia and the international community must not lose sight of the still arduous path to sustainable peace in the country and the region, which "will require long-term robust engagement by all concerned, particularly by this august Council."
