The Legacy of Peacekeeping on the Liberian Security Sector

On December 23, 2016, the United Nations Security Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) for a final period until March 30, 2018. This resolution marked the end of one of the United Nations’ longest running peacekeeping operations. UNMIL started its mission in Liberia in October of 2003 in accordance with Security Council Resolution 1509 (2003). The mission arrived at the end of a bloody civil war that lasted on and off from 1989 to 2003. The conflicts claimed the lives of over 150,000 people – mostly civilians – and led to a complete breakdown of law and order, including a dysfunctional security sector, with over fifteen parallel branches working in the country.