The global financial crisis threatens an already fragile peace in Liberia, further straining the United Nations security mission, said a special report by the UN secretary-general released here on Monday.

The impact of the global economic downturn is expected to " contribute to an increase in violent crime and civil unrest," said UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in an update of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).

Many of those working in and with UNMIL have expressed the view that the mission's "existing peace and stability could not be sustained without a significance presence by the UNMIL military" and "cautioned against its hasty drawdown and withdrawal."

Beginning in October, UNMIL is to scale down its military operations from 10,231 soldiers to 7,952 troops, which the report recommended should be maintained through the 2011 elections.

It has been six years since the West African country ended its 14-year-long civil war but the current calm is "highly vulnerable to disruption and the gains that have been made are susceptible to reversal," said the report.

"I am very concerned about the threat that the global financial crisis poses to post-conflict recovery efforts in Liberia," said Ban in his report. "National revenues are shrinking as a resolute of the downturn ... and the government is facing a budget shortfall of 14.7 million (U.S. dollars) for the fiscal year 2008/ 09."

In his report, the secretary-general recommended that the government of Liberia invest more resources in developing its beleaguered justice system, ridding it of corruption and discriminatory laws.

"The dysfunctional justice system perpetuates a culture of settling disputes through mob violence," said the report, adding that the same factors which led to the civil war, such as marginalization of the indigenous majority, land disputes, and rampant corruption, threaten to tear at the very seams of Liberian society.

The report also urged reconciliation at the national and civil levels and urged all Liberian citizens to address the divisive issues rooted in the country's past.

While concerned about the scourge of transnational drug- trafficking, which has had "a catastrophic effect" on countries in the region, Ban said in the report that he was encouraged by the " good-neighbourliness and security cooperation" fostered by the Mano River Union, which was established between Liberia, Sierra Leone, and Guinea.