UNDP Liberia Cross Border Project is  constructing a market warehouse at the Loguatuo border situated in Nimba County.

Cross-border women traders will use the facility to store their goods. Beneficiaries met with UNDP Liberia Resident Representative Stephen Rodriques during a vist of the project at various locations in Nimba, Grand Gedeh and Rivergee Counties to express their appreciation.

During the interaction they expressed their profound appreciation to UNDP and its financing partners for the long-standing support to the traders, and for the ongoing construction of the storage facility to store their goods which are normally exposed or left in the open after daily transactions. 

They believe, when the construction work is completed, it will help preserve their goods especially perishable ones from unfavorable weather conditions.

Other beneficiaries across the three counties visited by Rodriques and his team,expressed gratitude for the level of peace building and conflict resolution trainings that have been provided to them.

According to the women and elders, these initiatives have helped them peacefully resolve conflicts within their communities and acoss border areas without going to the Police or to Court.

"We no longer need to seek resolution through the courts," they noted.  They believe that this has strengthened social cohesion between them and their counterparts across the Ivorian border and has helped to reduce tension arising from conflicts within their community.

They also informed Mr. Rodrques that the level of harassment at the borders has decreased significantly. Officers of Liberia’s Immigration Service (LIS), Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) and other joint border security also applauded UNDP for the trainings conducted which according to them, have enabled officers to carry out their duties with integrity and professionalism.

During the visit, the mission met and interacted with various stakeholders of the project including women and youth, civil society organizations and local authorities.

The meeting also generated challenges and constraints being encountered to include  logistics, inadequate housing facilities for officers, infiltration orillegal entry of the borders by other nationals etc.

Despite the challenges the project has been able to support the reactivation of the County Security Council (CSC), the purchase of 180 acres of land in Tienpo border area (between Grand Gedeh and Ivory Coast) for the construction of structures or offices for theLiberia Immigration Service LIS) and other security apparatus, conflict mediation between bordering towns on both sides of the border has seen massive reduction in tensions between border communities and the resolution of conflict between varying parties, etc.

In response, the UNDP Resident Representative reminded the stakeholders that there can be no peace nor security without development and there can be no development without peace and security.

Rodriques cautioned that peace is only achievable if the rights of everyone are respected. He described the work of the County Security Council as  "very critical to maintaining peace and security" and that efforts from the members should be exerted to ensure that no one is above the law.

The border areas between Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia have seen rich social and economic interactions between communities as well as bitter conflicts over time. For the communities of the cross-border areas in Grand Gedeh and Nimba Counties, cross border traders (mainly women) have interacted for generations despite grievances, land disputes, harassment from border immigration and security personnel, and periodic insecurity.

UNDP has worked with the Government of Liberia (Peace Building Office, Ministry of Justice, Liberia National Police, Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency, etc.), IOM, NGOs, CSOs, etc to promote cross border engagement between Côte d’Ivoire and Liberia and to reinforce social cohesion and border security.

The initiative is aimed at increasing trust between state institutions and target communities, reducing community tensions by addressing grievances, including land disputes, and fostering cross-border trade and investments.

Phase one of the project has focused primarily on reducing inter-communal tensions and conflict in the border areas, for example between refugees and host communities around refugee rights or the use of resource.

The second phase has prioritized enhancing cross border trade by putting in place markets and other facilities to support mostly cross-border women traders, and strengthening the relationship between traders and border officials in order to reduce harassment.

The Cross Border Engagement Project is funded by the Liberia Multi- Partner Trust Fund (LMPTF) under the Peace-Building Fund (PBF). It is implemented by both UNDP and IOM in close collaboration with the Ministries of Internal Affairs and  Justice, as well as the DEA, Peace-building Office (PBO), Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) and Civil Society Organizations- SEWODA & CHESS.

Launched in 2020, it is intended to support border security as well as peacebuilding efforts in the locations mentioned.