By Peter Toby, obypeter71@gmail.com
The umbrella group for Lawyers, the Liberian National Bar Association (LNBA) has finally endorsed the full implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report and the establishment of a war and economic crimes court in the country.
The TRC Report has been before National Legislative for over decade since its completion in 2009 for implementation.
In its findings released in 2019, the TRC said in its report that he major root causes of the conflict are, according to the TRC, attributable to poverty, greed, corruption, limited access to education, economic, social, civil and political inequalities; identity conflict; land tenure and distribution; the lack of reliable and appropriate mechanisms for the settlement of disputes; as well as the “duality of the Liberian political, social and legal systems which polarizes and widens the disparities between the Liberian peoples – a chasm between settler Liberia and indigenous Liberia (Consolidated Final Report, Vol. II, p. 16).”
The report says “all factions to the Liberian conflict are responsible for abuses, including war crimes and crimes against humanity.”
LNBA, which is currently headed by prominent human rights Lawyer Cllr. Tiawan Gongloe, reached the decision to support implementation of the TRC report through a resolution issued over the weekend. It came following a heated debate amongst the 94 delegates at the just-ended LNBA’s General Assembly in Kakata, Margibi County outside Monrovia.
Eighty-six out of the 94 Lawyers voted for the implementation of the document, while four were against and four abstain from the process.
Interestingly, the former leader of the rebel Liberia Peace Council (LPC) and Grand Gedeh County Representative Dr. George Borley witnessed the occasion, when the Liberian legal practitioners unanimously voted for the implementation of the TRC Report and setting up of a war crimes court.
Since taking office over one year ago, President George Manneh Weah and his CDC government has so far failed to commit themselves to the establishment of a war and economic crimes court, despite mounting pressure from various civil society and political groups.
Other findings in the TRC report are: “The massive wave of gross violations and atrocities assumed a systematic pattern of abuse.
All factions committed gender based violence against women and recruited children to participate in acts of violence.
“External state actors in Africa, North America and Europe participated, supported, aided, abetted, conspired and instigated violence, war and regime change for political, economic and foreign policy advantages and gains (Consolidated Final Report, Vol. II, p. 18).”
Recommendations
The TRC advised for the establishment of an Extraordinary Criminal Tribunal for Liberia and named individuals, corporations and institutions recommended for prosecution or, in some cases, for further investigation.
The commission also included a list of individuals recommended to be barred from holding public office for thirty years (including President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf).
The commission urged the Government of Liberia to guarantee the full enjoyment of social, economic and cultural rights, in addition to civil and political rights.
The TRC’s report called for the establishment of a National Palava Hut Forum as a complementary tool for justice and national reconciliation. The commission recommended that the Palava Hut process be based on traditional dispute resolution mechanisms. Persons recommended for prosecution in the TRC Report for the commission of international crimes would not be entitled to be pardoned through the Palava Hut process.
The TRC recommended that the Government of Liberia assumes its full responsibility under international law to provide reparations for all those individuals and communities victimized by the years of instability and war, especially women and children. The commission recommended a reparation program of approximately US$500m over 30 years.
The commission recommended general amnesty for children, and amnesty for lesser crimes in an effort to foster national healing and reconciliation if individuals admit their wrongs and express remorse. The commission recommended that institutional reform must be implemented to promote good governance and human rights, and to prevent the recurrence of abuses.
The TRC recommended to the international community to continue its engagement with Liberia and the sub region,” the TRC report adds.