NATIONAL NEWS
UNITED NATIONS – Liberia has called for stronger international action against foreign recruitment networks accused of exploiting vulnerable people and sending them into combat in the war in Ukraine, while proposing a four-pillar framework to strengthen protection for prisoners of war and other detainees.
By: Kabina S. Kabah – kabinaskabah98@gmail.com
Liberia’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Lewis G. Brown II, made the call Monday at an Arria-Formula meeting of the United Nations Security Council focused on the implementation of International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in Ukraine.
Ambassador Brown said Liberia’s proposed framework is designed to place humanitarian protection at the center of international efforts to address the plight of detainees and foreign nationals caught up in the conflict.
Liberia’s Four-Pillar Framework
Under the first pillar, Liberia is proposing an “All-for-All” Humanitarian Framework that would prioritize the immediate release of seriously ill and wounded detainees, unlawfully detained civilians, and third-country nationals, including Africans, for return to their countries of origin.
The second pillar calls for the establishment of a consolidated International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Detainee Registry to ensure that prisoners and other detainees are properly identified and accounted for.
Ambassador Brown said the registry would help prevent detainees from disappearing without a trace while providing families and authorities with a reliable mechanism for tracking their whereabouts.
The third pillar proposes permanent humanitarian exchange mechanisms that can continue operating even when political negotiations break down.
“Humanity must never be held hostage to a political timetable,” Brown stressed.
The fourth pillar targets what Liberia described as predatory foreign recruitment networks, which allegedly exploit economic hardship and other vulnerabilities to lure foreign nationals from dozens of countries into combat.
“This is the exploitation of vulnerability,” Ambassador Brown said, calling on states to strengthen cooperation in prevention, consular protection, and the prosecution of recruitment and trafficking networks under the Palermo Protocol.
Liberia Calls for Unrestricted ICRC Access
The Liberian envoy also called for full, regular and unimpeded access for the ICRC to all detention facilities holding prisoners of war and other detainees.
“Access is the oxygen of protection, and a prisoner unseen is a prisoner unprotected,” Brown declared.
He argued that allegations of mistreatment, unlawful detention, or other violations of international humanitarian law must be addressed through transparency and accountability.
“There are only two principled responses to such allegations: transparency or correction through accountability. There is no third option,” he said.
Brown further warned that compliance with international humanitarian law should be measured by the protection actually provided to people in detention and vulnerable communities, rather than simply by commitments made in diplomatic forums.
“International humanitarian law is not preserved in the comfort of diplomatic chambers; it is preserved in cell blocks, in transit camps, and at exchange points, or it is not preserved at all,” he said.
The Liberian diplomat urged the United Nations and the parties to the conflict to intensify efforts to locate missing detainees and facilitate their safe return.
He called on the international community to “give light to those waiting in the dark” and ensure that every missing person is accounted for and brought home.
The Arria-Formula meeting was convened by the Permanent Missions of Latvia, the United Kingdom and Ukraine.
