Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities and Peaceful Settlement of Conflict between the Armed Forces of Liberia, and The National Patriotic Front of Liberia, and the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (Lome Ceasefire Agreement)

• Country/entity

  Liberia
  
• Region

  Africa (excl MENA)
  
• Agreement name

  Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities and Peaceful Settlement of Conflict between the Armed Forces of Liberia, and The National Patriotic Front of Liberia, and the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia (Lome Ceasefire Agreement)
• Date

  13 Feb 1991
• Agreement status

  Multiparty signed/agreed
• Interim arrangement

  Yes
• Agreement/conflict level

  Intrastate/intrastate conflict ( Liberian Civil Wars (1989 - 1997) (1999 - 2005) )
• Stage

  Ceasefire/related
• Conflict nature

  Government
• Peace process

  Liberia peace process
• Parties

  Done in Lome, Togolese Republic, this 13th day of February, 1991
  (Signed):
  Lt-General J. Hezekiah Bowen
  For and on behalf of the Armed Forces of Liberia
  
  Mr. Charles Ghankay Taylor
  For and on behalf of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia
  
  Mr. Prince Yeduo Johnson
  For and on behalf of the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia
• Third parties

  Witnessed by:
  His Excellency Alhaji Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara, President of the Republic of The Gambia and Chairman of the Standing Mediation Committee
• Description

  This agreement details a ceasefire and its modalities between the Armed Forces of Liberia, The National Patriotic Front of Liberia, and the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia. The agreement also cites the ECOWAS Standing Mediation Committee and the decisions of the First Extra-ordinary Session of the Authority held in Bamako, Mali, from 27 to 28 November 1990, as providing an appropriate mechanism for conducting peace negotiations to end the conflict in Liberia.

• Agreement document

  LR_910213_Lome Agreement.pdf | Download PDF

Groups

Gender

State definition

Governance

Power sharing

Human rights and equality

Rights related issues

Rights institutions

Justice sector reform

Socio-economic reconstruction

Land, property and environment

Security sector

Transitional justice

Implementation

Agreement on Cessation of Hostilities and Peaceful Settlement of Conflict Between The Armed Forces of Liberia Represented by Lt-General J. Hezekiah Bowen, of the First Part, and The National Patriotic Front of Liberia Represented by Mr. Charles Ghankay Taylor, of the Second Part, and The Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia Represented by Mr. Prince Yeduo Johnson, of the Third Part, Lome, Togo, 13 February 1991

Aware of the armed conflict between the parties to the conflict;

Recognising the loss of human lives and massive destruction of properties and the displacement of persons occasioned by the said conflict;

Considering the damage in various forms being caused by the armed conflict to the peace and security of the entire Liberian nation;

Determined to arrive at a peaceful and lasting settlement to the dispute through negotiations and to put an end to the situation which is seriously disrupting the normal life of the peaceful people of Liberia;

and

Convinced that the ECOWAS Standing Mediation Committee established by the Authority of Heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States at its Thirteenth Session held from 28 to 30 May 1990 in Banjul, The Gambia, and the decisions of the First Extra-ordinary Session of the Authority held in Bamako, Mali, from 27 to 28 November 1990, provide an appropriate mechanism for conducting such peace negotiations.

Hereby agrees as follows:

Article 1

Cease-fire

1. Each party hereby agrees to take immediately and as a contribution to the restoration and maintenance of peace and security throughout Liberia the following measures:

cease all hostilities of military and paramilitary nature, immediately upon the signature of this Agreement;

refrain from importing or acquiring or assisting or encouraging the importation and acquisition of weapons or war materials;

confine its troops to positions to be determined by the ECOWAS Cease-fire Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) in consultation with the parties, and agree that ECOMOG and two representatives of each of the parties may jointly inspect all ships calling at any Liberian port and all vehicles and aircraft entering through the land borders, airfields and other entry points of Liberia to ensure that the provisions of this Cease-fire Agreement are being respected and observed;

assist ECOMOG in the drawing up of a buffer zone to separate the opposing forces and of standard operating procedures (SPOs) for check- point operations;

release all hostages, political prisoners and prisoners of war;

co-operate with all humanitarian agencies in their efforts to provide relief and assistance to the people of Liberia;

and also agree to respect the Red Cross (Geneva) Conventions;

fully co-operate with the ECOWAS Standing Mediation Committee, the ECOWAS Executive Secretariat and the ECOWAS Cease-fire Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) for the effective maintenance of the cease-fire and the restoration of peace;

upon that formation of the future Interim Government, the said government shall take appropriate measures, with the assistance of ECOWAS, to being disarming the warring parties.

2. In order to arrive at a peaceful and lasting settlement of the dispute, the parties hereby accept the ECOWAS Cease-fire Monitoring Group (ECOMOG) established under the authority of the Chairman of the Authority of Heads of State and Government of ECOWAS and under the command of an ECOWAS Member State.

3. ECOMOG shall be as presently constituted and may include military contingents from Member States of ECOWAS able and willing to contribute.

Article 2

Compliance with this Agreement

The parties undertake to observe strictly the terms of this Agreement and to abstain from any action likely to impede the mediation process or the return of Liberia to peace and stability.

Article 3

Annex - Modalities for Monitoring the Implementation of the Cease-fire Agreement by ECOMOG

The Annex to this Agreement shall form an integral part of this Agreement.

Article 4

Entry into Force

This Agreement is done in four original copies in the English and French languages, each copy being equally authentic.

It shall enter into force upon signature by the duly mandated representatives of the parties hereto.

Done in Lome, Togolese Republic, this 13th day of February, 1991

(Signed):

Lt-General J. Hezekiah Bowen

For and on behalf of the Armed Forces of Liberia

Mr. Charles Ghankay Taylor

For and on behalf of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia

Mr. Prince Yeduo Johnson

For and on behalf of the Independent National Patriotic Front of Liberia

Witnessed by:

His Excellency Alhaji Sir Dawda Kairaba Jawara, President of the Republic of The Gambia and Chairman of the Standing Mediation Committee

Annex

Modalities for Monitoring the Implementation of the Cease-fire Agreement by the ECOMOG:

1. Prerequisite for Effective Cease-fire Monitoring:

The success of the implementation of the cease­ fire and its monitoring will hinge on the co-operation of every party with ECOMOG.

It is therefore essential that every soldier from all the parties involved in the Liberian crisis is thoroughly briefed and educated on the following points:

All aspects of the Cease-fire Agreement;

Modalities to be agreed upon for monitoring the cease-fire by ECOMOG;

The expected reaction to violation of any aspect of the Cease-fire Agreement by other parties;

Thorough knowledge of ECOMOG soldiers by the soldiers of the warring parties.

2. Reporting Cease-fire Violation.

The violation of any aspects of the Cease-fire Agreement constitute a very serious breach and must be reported promptly to ECOMOG with the following details:

Time of violation;

Parties involved;

Locations of parties involved;

Detailed description of type of violation;

If weapon fired, state number of and type of ammunition fired;

Type of weapon used and effect;

Casualty and damage caused.

3. A logbook should be kept to record details of all incidences of cease-fire violation, and such reports will be investigated promptly by ECOMOG and resolved.

4. Method and Channel of Communication.

The Cease-fire Agreement and its monitoring modality will enable ECOMOG troops to operate detachments in the areas held by the various warring parties.

In this case communication shall be by:

Contact through liaison personnel;

Radio through agreed working channel.

5. Disarmament Exercise.

In order to eliminate totally incidents of violations of the Cease-fire Agreement and to avoid indiscriminate spread of arms which can be used in crimes, all troops belonging to the parties in the Liberian conflict must be disarmed.

While it is desirable to disarm all parties immediately, the exercise will be carried out in a flexible manner according to the security situation as determined by ECOMOG.

However the following procedure is envisaged:

a. Concentration of Troops.

Designated areas that are easily accessible and within operating distances of troops shall be earmarked in the AO of the three parties in the Liberian conflict to assemble their troops.

Adequate information shall be mounted to educate troops about the locations of these assembly areas and time of exercise.

Visible signposting to the assembly areas shall be provided.

Assembly periods shall be restricted to the hours of daylight only.

The following locations are envisaged for the concentration of troops:

(1) AFL BTC - Monrovia

Camp Scheifflin

(2) INPFL Caldwell Base - Monrovia

(3) NPFL Fire Stone (Bong way) Bong

Naama - Bong County

Salala (Bong County) Ganta - Nimba Gbarnga - Maj Mil Bong

Ijenta Teedi

Zwedru (4 Bn) Grand Gedeh

Toedi-Mesurado

b. Disarmament Programme.

A timetable for the disarmament programme is attached as Annex A. Timetable covers reasonable and realistic periods that will allow the assembly of troops and their total disarmament.

c. Policy on Turning in of Weapons.

All weapons and ammunitions of all categories shall be brought to the assembly areas and handed over to ECOMOG personnel by individual troops.

Adequate storage facility shall be provided to protect weapons before evacuation.

d. Registration/Classification of Troops and Weapons.

ECOMOG reception centres shall be created near each assembly point to carry out documentation exercise.

Reception centres should be equipped to provide some form of entertainment to troops and with adequate staff to carry out:

Registration of troops and surrendered weapons;

Classification of troops i.e. wounded, sick, etc.;

Transportation of troops to reception centres and weapons to holding centres.

6. Reception Centres.

Reception centres shall be established at convenient places to receive troops.

These centres will constitute the first stage of trying to rehabilitate the soldiers and would be largely approached in the following manner:

Initial sorting-out exercise to determine those to go back to school and those requiring vocational training;

Humanitarian organisations to provide relief materials, medical services and food;

Provision of adequate transportation to move personnel to their various places of residence.

7. Maintenance of the Cease-fire.

The Cease-fire shall be supervised and maintained by ECOMOG forces through the following actions:

Immediate takeover of the Roberts International Airport and the Buchanan port, and progressively to other ports and airfields;

Establishment of road blocks and check points at selected strategic locations and border towns;

Extensive patrolling of the countryside to ensure free flow of traffic;

Provision of security escorts and transport by ECOMOG to move displaced persons into their places of abode;

Provision of security escorts by ECOMOG to humanitarian organisations in the distribution of relief materials;

Occasional air reconnaissance.

8. The provisions of Paragraph 7 above will be implemented as soon as the Interim Government is formed at the National Conference to be held on 15 March 1991.

9. Pending the setting up of the Interim Government, ECOMOG will be responsible for maintaining and monitoring the cease-fire in liaison with the Technical Committee.

This monitoring will cover the whole territory including seaports, airports and all entry points into the country.

10. The Technical Committee is composed of the ECOMOG Field Commander or his representative and a representative of each of the three (3) warring parties.

Annex A

1. Event:

Meeting of warring parties to work out modalities for cease-fire.

Venue:

Executive Pavilion.

Remarks:

To work out the modalities for cease-fire and agree on programme implementation.

2. Event:

Confinement of troops.

Venue:

Units Concentration Areas.

Remarks:

Units and Formation Headquarters to enforce confinement.

3. Event:

Takeover of security at Robertsfield Airport, Buchanan Port and opening Liberian borders with Sierra Leone, Guinea and Côte d'Ivoire.

Venue:

Various locations.

Remarks:

Facilitate repatriation of Liberians and humanitarian, economic and improve the return to normalcy.

4. Event:

Move to reception centres in batches for disarmament, registration and encampment, recognition of ECOMOG soldiers by the soldiers of warring parties.

Thorough education of troops on the cease-fire need and details.

Provision of relief materials.

5. Event:

Documentation of troops to plan recreation and entertainment and balanced feeding as well as detailed documentation of arms for safekeeping.

Venue:

Respective concentration areas.

Remarks:

Troops to be classified into fit, unfit, wounded, sick, etc.

while weapons will be classified by calibres.

6. Event:

Vigorous patrols by ECOMOG troops throughout Liberia including establishment of check points.

Venue:

All countries.

Remarks:

To allow for freedom of movement of goods, services and deter armed robbery.