§ Lord Aveburyasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they agree with the remarks on the Liberian crisis of Mr. Herman Cohen, US Assistant Secretary of African Affairs, that "ECOWAS is no longer a neutral party … ECOMOG … is now one of the combatants … so I think the next step —and we are discussing this in Washington—will be United Nations intervention to provide a neutral party to try and bring about a political solution", whether they will appeal to the heads of ECOWAS states to reduce their forces on Liberian soil and to stop using warships and bombers against the civilian population of Liberia; and whether they will propose to ECOWAS heads of state that UN observers from outside the region be asked to explore methods of securing a permanent cease-fire and of getting the electoral process moving again.
§ Baroness Chalker of WallaseyThe remarks to which the noble Lord refers have been disclaimed by the US Government, who have expressed their support for both ECOWAS and ECOMOG. We also strongly support the continued commitment and efforts made by ECOWAS to restore peace to Liberia. UN Security Council Resolution 788 of 19th November condemned the continuing armed attacks against ECOMOG, called upon all parties to the conflict to respect strictly the provisions of international humanitarian law, and asked the UN Secretary-General to send a Special Representative to Liberia to evaluate and report on the situation. We gave our full support to that resolution.