Contrary to the appeal from the Liberian Interim leader that UN sanctions regime imposed on Liberia be lifted because the Taylor government is no longer in power and that sanctions are hurting Liberians, recent report filed by the UN Panel of Experts on Liberia indicates that the West African nation is not yet ripe for the lifting of sanctions.

Though the DDRR process is currently going on, most of the country is still under the control of warring factions. The report, for example, cited the timber rich Southeastern Liberia that is still controlled by MODEL warring faction. Deployment of UN forces in that part of the country is uncertain. There has been a spate of human rights abuses administered by MODEL to the hapless people in that part of the country. Just recently it was reported in Monrovia that MODEL fighters gang-raped a girl in the City of Harper.

More importantly, as one observer put it, "the more things change, the more they remain the same": the interim government is competing with the government it succeeded when it comes to corruption.

The report also contains a survey conducted in Buchanan, Ganta, Gbarnga, Greenville, Harper, Monrovia and Zwedru. Though 58% of Liberians in the seven cities want sanctions to be lifted, "majority of the respondents in four of the seven areas [Buchanan, Greenville, Harper and Monrovia] that were polled were in favor of retaining sanctions as compared to the other three", the report stated.

Below is the full Report: