Nothing Left to Lose: The Legacy of Armed Conflict and Liberia’s Children

Throughout the years of civil war and especially during the 2003 War, thousands of children in Liberia have been victims of killings, rape and sexual assault, abduction, torture, forced labor, forced recruitment into fighting forces and displacement and other violations by warring factions, including the government of Liberia under Charles Taylor, Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) and the Movement for Democracy in Liberia (MODEL). A complex web of cross-border activities helped to fuel war in Liberia and to feed instability and fragility throughout the region.

This report compiles information from a variety of sources to document ongoing violations of Liberian children’s security and rights. It also makes urgent recommendations to all parties that participated in armed conflict, the UN Security Council, UNMIL, international donors, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and others to take immediate action to protect Liberian children from further abuse and devastation as reconstruction in Liberia moves forward.