Following the rewarding outcomes of the pilot series of the ECOWAS Security Sector Reform and Governance (SSRG) Workshops held in Guinea Bissau, the Gambia and Senegal, the African Security Sector Network (ASSN) and its partners have extended the workshops to Liberia, Nigeria and Niger.
From 9th to 12th August, 2022, critical stakeholders, including government ministries and agencies, Legislature of Liberia, security sector institutions, civil society organisations (CSOs) and the media, as well as development partners, are gathering at a workshop at the Royal Grand Hotel in Monrovia, Liberia to continue the dissemination of the ECOWAS Policy Framework for Security Sector Reform and Governance (SSRG) within the West African region. The workshop is being held as part of the ECOWAS Peace and Security Architecture and Operations (EPSAO) Project, co-funded by the European Union (EU) and the German Federal Ministry for Economic Development and Cooperation (BMZ). It is hosted by the ASSN together with its partners, GIZ and the ECOWAS Regional Security Division.
The ECOWAS Policy Framework on SSRG seeks to promote common security standards in the region, complement nationally-led initiatives, and promote regional security coordination and cooperation so as to effectively tackle new and emerging security challenges. The ECOWAS SSRG Workshop consequently promotes awareness of the Policy Framework as mandated by the ECOWAS Authority of Heads of State and Government.
To demonstrate their commitment to security governance and sustainable peace in Liberia, eminent personalities from relevant governmental and regional institutions as well as partners and the diplomatic community, graced the opening ceremony and further participated in the ensuing roundtable which discussed Political Leadership and National Ownership of SSR in Liberia; Legacy and Findings on the UNMIL; and SSRG in the Mano River Union.
Representing His Excellency, Dee-Maxwell Saah Kemayah, Sr., the Hon. Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Jarjar M. Kamara, gave the opening remarks to welcome participants to the Workshop. He indicated that Liberia is gratified to play host to the timely engagement. He offered a brief background of Liberia’s history, laid emphasis on the period of violence and linked it to how supportive the ECOWAS, the African Union and the Mano River Union have been in restoring and sustaining peace in Liberia. He emphasized that the ECOWAS Policy Framework on SSRG was adapted from the experience of the Liberian violent conflict and its rippling effects on contiguous countries and is therefore, proactive in prioritizing conflict prevention. He further expressed concern about the increasing spate of Jihadism in the region and lamented how most of the emerging illegitimate groups perpetrate organized crimes such as piracy and drug trafficking. He equally decried the recent military incursions in Burkina Faso and Mali and asserted that as challenged as Liberia may be, security is prioritized in the national budget. He commended ECOWAS for its role in restoring peace in war-torn countries, an achievement which has been acknowledged internationally.

Figure 2: From left, Cll. Nyenati Tuan, Deputy Minister of Justice for Codification, Ambassador Jarjar Kamara, Acting Minister for Foreign Affairs and Hon. Gbawou C. Kowou IV, representing the Minister for Finance
He expressed his gratitude to the partners for extending the workshop to Liberia and wished participants fruitful deliberations.
In her keynote address, Her Excellency, Madam Josephine Nkrumah, Resident Representative of the President of the ECOWAS Commission in Liberia, commended ECOWAS’ progressive achievement given the trajectory that the SSRG Policy Framework has charted from its conception, drafting, validation, adoption, launch and ongoing dissemination which has lasted 13 years. She made it clear that the Policy Framework is not intended to replace nationally-led initiatives but to complement them. Her Excellency highlighted the two significant components of the ECOWAS SSRG Policy Framework; human security and conflict prevention. Human security concerns the placement of the individual and community citizens at the centre of security determination, provision, delivery, management, accountability, and oversight. Conflict prevention on the other hand represents a move away from the traditional Western conceptualization of Security Sector Reform as a post-conflict intervention measure to one that places it as an aspect of conflict prevention.

Figure 3: Her Excellency, Mad Josephine Nkrumah, Resident Representative of the President of the ECOWAS Commission in Liberia
She reminded participants that as conflict prevention measure, they do not have to wait for crisis to erupt and for the capacity of the security sector to be tested before taking steps to improve it since the SSRG Policy Framework is proactive. As ECOWAS promotes the dissemination of the SSRG Policy Framework by supporting member states to improve their security sectors, she called on all stakeholders to contribute their quota to the process. . She concluded by noting the tremendous support ECOWAS has rendered to Liberia and thanked all partners and national stakeholders for their cooperation.
The Head of Regional Security Division of the ECOWAS Commission, Dr. Abdourahmane Dieng, represented by Captain Tukur Mohammed, joined in to acknowledge ECOWAS’ role in building capacity and supporting member states to improve their security sectors in a sustainable manner. He indicated that the workshop for Liberia is to further enhance capacities of security actors in Liberia to make them responsive to the security needs of their people, having successfully completed similar workshops in the initial three countries of the project. He reiterated the commitment of ECOWAS and partners to sustainable peace and wished participants a productive engagement over the four-day period.
The Head of the European Union (EU) Delegation to Liberia, Ambassador Laurent Delahousse, also recounted the strong and longstanding collaboration between ECOWAS and the EU on regional integration to bring peace. According to him, when organisations synergize their efforts, it results in greater outcomes and this holds true for SSRG. As a demanding and intricate agenda, it is obvious that nations cannot do SSRG all by themselves, which is why partners such as the EU and the German government contribute to making peace work not only in Liberia but globally. He identified a few of the projects the EU is supporting in Liberia including the provision of boats to protect the country’s territorial waters and other responses to maritime insecurity. He added the EU’s emphasis on Gender and the Youth and underscored its relevance to the workshop which aims at having at least 40% women and youth participation.
He expressed grave concerns regarding the violent trends that still persist in Liberia and the need to eliminate them. He also recalled the recent skirmishes among youth groups on this year’s Liberian Independence Day which he described as needless. The violence triggered unanimous condemnation by the international community. He concluded by encouraging all stakeholders to be part of the collaborative efforts in ensuring a peaceful election in Liberia in 2023.
Ambassador Dr Jakob Haselhuber, the German Ambassador to Liberia, also decried the security threats that have plagued the region and emphasized the need to eliminate such threats which can be done by enhancing the capacity of security sector institutions to respond appropriately. He registered Germany’s interest in engaging all stakeholders for lasting peace and commended ECOWAS and partners for promoting the Policy Framework on SSRG.
ASSN delivered the concluding remarks of the opening session and was duly represented by its Regional Coordinator for West Africa/Executive Director of PRAWA, Dr Uju Agomoh, who expressed her delight and appreciation to the support showed by dignitaries who gave the earlier remarks. She also applauded the range of agencies and institutions represented at the workshop which exhibits the commitment to an inclusive engagement on the crucial matter of security sector reform and governance. She gave a brief background of the ASSN and its vision of driving ownership of SSRG processes across the continent. She further remarked that the notion of conflict prevention is key to SSRG in ECOWAS and that is what the ASSN has stood for since its formation in 2003. She added that previously, ASSN had been involved in SSRG in Liberia in diverse ways.
- To begin with, the ASSN worked with the Governance Commission in Liberia through its Security Sector Transformation Advisory Group to design a National Security Policy Framework and SSR Strategy for the Government of Liberia. The ASSN also funded or otherwise facilitated the Liberia Security Sector Review by the Governance Commission (this covered a review of the National Bureau of Immigration; development of an Integrated Border Management Strategy; and a workshop on Integration of Veterans). Further, in collaboration with King’s College London and the Geneva Centre for Security Sector Governance (DCAF), the ASSN provided training and capacity building for the Defence and Security Committees in the Liberian Legislature (House and Senate) from March 2006 to July 2009. At the time, ASSN and partners:
- were the only African and non-governmental force/actor/network supporting SSRG in Liberia;
- were concerned with the lack of accountability and national ownership in the reform process;
- dissented from the prevailing top-down approach adopted by the United States and the United Nations /international community by insisting on popular consultations as the basis for designing and implementing reforms;
- advocated holistic (instead of selective) reforms undergirded by a National Security Policy/Strategy emerging from national consultations; and
- focused on addressing the many gaps in the reform process (the many institutions and needs – including organs of accountability left out in the process).
Dr. Agomoh ended by emphasizing that the journey to sustainable peace should not end with the workshop but should be sustained. She congratulated all participants at the workshop for the massive turnout and encouraged all to show commitment towards the desired change that Liberia seeks.