In a 1 August 1997 letter e-mailed to the DIRB, a military expenditure project leader at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) indicated that military service was voluntary in Liberia until about 1990. The same source stated that after the formal military structure collapsed as a result of the civil war that started in December 1989, individual warlords might have begun conscripting their own forces.

The attachment from Easy Prey: Child Soldiers in Liberia, published by Human Rights Watch/Africa (HRW/A) in 1994, explains how child soldiers have been forcibly recruited by different factions involved in the Liberian civil war. Also attached is an excerpt from a 1994 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) document, Background Paper on Liberia Refugees and Asylum Seekers, which lists the various factions.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list additional of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Reference

Military expenditure project leader, Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). 1 August 1997. An E-mail letter sent to DIRB.

Attachments

Human Rights Watch (HRW)/Africa. September 1994. Easy Prey: Child Soldiers in Liberia. New York: Human Rights Watch/Africa, pp. 25-31.

Military expenditure project leader , Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). 1 August 1997. An E-mail letter sent to DIRB.

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). October 1994. Background Paper on Liberian Refugees and Asylum Seekers. Geneva: UNHCR pp. 9-11.

Additional Sources Consulted

Amnesty International Reports. 1985-1997

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Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. 1985-1997.

DIRB Nigeria country file. 1985 to present.

The Europa World Year Book. 1990-1996.

Foreign Broadcast Information Service (FBIS) Daily Report. 1991 to present.

Human Rights Watch World Report. 1991-1997.

The Military Balance. 1994-1997.

On-line search of media articles

Two oral sources consulted did not provide information on the above mentioned subject.