The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL), the longest-living UN peace operations in West Africa, is currently in the process of transitioning to a smaller Peacebuilding or UN Country Office, but the prospect of a successful withdrawal is far from certain. In its anticipation, the Government of Liberia in March 2015 issued a plan to take over all security responsibilities currently performed by UNMIL by 30 June 2016. The UN, however, clearly maintains a rather dim view of Liberian government’s capabilities in this respect. Eventual UNMIL withdrawal and a transition to a future UN presence are contingent upon “security conditions on the ground” in Liberia. Given the evident lack of security preparedness by the Liberian government, and the urge to divert UN’s peacekeeping resources elsewhere, Liberia could also make history in Africa as the country where serving UN troops are rehatted into a regional force under ECOWAS.
