ABSTRACT
This chapter assesses the involvement of the United Nations (UN) in Liberia. It considers the changing nature of UN involvement in African conflict in the post Cold War period. The chapter analyses the UN resolutions on Liberia, the UN and the April 1996 crisis and the activities of UN agencies. It also discusses the place of the UN Secretary General's Special Representative on Liberia and the relationship between the United Nations and other organizations such as Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and the Organization of African Unity (OAU). After ECOWAS prepared its peacekeeping initiative, the UN was particularly impressed that a regional organization had taken a step to relieve the UN of its responsibility. From the moment United Nations Observer Mission in Liberia (UNOMIL) arrived in Liberia, the UN began to make it clear to Liberians, especially the warring factions, that the deployment was not an open-ended affair.
