UN mission kicks off disarmament programme in Liberian capital

The United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) today formally launched its programme of disarmament, demobilization, rehabilitation and reintegration (DDRR), which it hopes will bring security and hope to the war-ravaged West African country.

At a ceremony conducted at UNMIL's force headquarters in the capital, Monrovia, the first two weapons - formerly owned by combatants in the long-running Liberian civil conflict - were symbolically destroyed, according to a statement issued by UNMIL.

Jacques Paul Klein, the Special Representative of UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan for Liberia and UNMIL chief, led the ceremony, which was attended by senior figures from all Liberian parties to the Accra Peace Accord, as well as several ambassadors to the country.

The attendees included Guyde Bryant, the chairman of the National Transitional Government of Liberia; former President Moses Blah; Thomas Nimley, the chairman of Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL); and Chea Doe, deputy chairman of Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD).

Mr. Klein said the launch of DDRR represented the start of "the time of peace" for Liberia.

"Together, our task will be to provide for a better future for over 40,000 combatants from the former GoL (Government of Liberia), MODEL and LURD forces. But our greater objective will be to actively participate in the architecture of a more secure, more stable and certainly more prosperous Liberia," he said.