US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton arrived in Liberia today, making it the sixth stop on her current African tour. The purpose of the visit is to show US support for Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf and her reconstruction efforts aimed at addressing the wounds of Liberia’s recent 15 years of devastating civil war. The show of support comes at a critical time, directly following a Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission report that calls for the resignation of President Johnson-Sirleaf. The report condemns Johnson-Sirleaf and scores of other Liberian officials for their political and/or financial affiliations with civil war rebel groups. President Johnson-Sirleaf admitted to the Commission that, while living abroad during the conflict, she had sent funding to a Charles Taylor-backed rebel group but under the pretenses that the funding would only be used for humanitarian services.
WCI has worked with Liberian women’s organizations to provide recovery and reconstruction services during the past two years.
