PHOTO: (L-R) Rights Campaigner Adama Dempster and Pres. George Weah
By Our Staff Writer
Human Rights activists at side events of the ongoing US-Africa Democracy summit in Washington including the Secretary General of the National Human Rights Platform of Liberia, Adama Dempster are stepping up their campaign for the establishment of a war crimes court for Liberia.
In an address to the Africa Human Rights Leaders Summit – Side Event, Mr. Dempster told the US government that the setting up of a war crimes court is long overdue. And said Liberia has been unique when it comes to impunity, given the fact that Liberia’s brutal civil war ended 19 years ago, after about 250,000 people were killed.
“Unlike in other cases or countries scenario, the US has been largely silent on the need for criminal accountability on crimes committed in Liberia,” the prominent Liberian human rights campaigner pointed out.
Since he came to power in January 2018, President George Manneh Weah and his CDC government have been reluctant to endorse mounting local and international calls for the establishment of a war and economic crimes court.
Prior to his election in 2017, his CDC party championed the cause of a war crimes court which they publically said was an imperative. But Weah and the CDC held back their support for the establishment of such court after forming political alliance with warlord-turned Senator Prince Y. Johnson who is one of those recommended for prosecution in the 2010 report of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).
But in his address this week in Washington, rights activist Dempster urged the Americans to do more by directly engaging President Weah to make establishing war crimes court a reality.
“Given the US and Liberia long standing relations, we recommend that the US government directly engage President Weah and the government of Liberia to back a war crimes court. Liberia will need international expertise and assistance to organize a court that can handle these cases and President George Weah needs to request immediate assistance to organize the establishment of the Court, and further demand implementation of the TRC recommendations.”
Mr. Dempster continued: “We have seen in countries like Guinea Democratic Republic of Congo South Sudan Sierra Leone and Central African Republic, the US has taken a clear position in support of justice for atrocities and urged for trials of the crimes committed in these countries. The US also has provided financial assistance to support accountability efforts, whether domestic or hybrid courts, to try the crimes.”
The executive of the National Human Rights Advocacy Platform of Liberia stressed the need for President Weah “to commit to establish accountability framework to bring war crimes perpetrators to justice or in other words establish the war crimes court to address civil wars era crimes in Liberia.”
Mr. Dempster also told the US government that prosecuting perpetrators of war crimes and crimes against humanity in Liberia is “key to breaking the accountability paralysis in the country and finally seeing victims have access to justice”.