Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, representing the Unity Party, is expected to become the first woman elected Head of State in Africa. An advocate for increasing the role of women in peacebuilding, she won the second round of presidential elections on 8 November 2005.

Liberia emerged from a period of civil war in 2003. The 14-year conflict killed an estimated quarter of a million people, forced hundreds of thousands of others to flee their homes and left the country's infrastructure in ruins.

The circulation of guns within the neighbouring countries of Liberia, Côte d'Ivoire and Sierra Leone continues to fuel the armed violence in the region. Click here to read a submission on this subject from Human Rights Watch (2004).

Johnson Sirleaf co-authored 'Women, War, Peace', the landmark 2002 report on women and armed conflict. The report made 22 key recommendations for the implementation of UN Security Council resolution 1325, on peace, women and security.

Read the latest edition of the IANSA Women’s Network Bulletin to find out more about resolution 1325.