PHOTO: Liberian Foreign Min. Maxwell Kemayah (Left)
The latest US State Department report on Liberia says significant abuses continued in this West African Country in 2021 as was the case in the previous year, 2020 under the ruling CDC government of President George Manneh Weah.
“Significant human rights issues included credible reports of: arbitrary killings by police; cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by police; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary arrest or detention; serious problems with the independence of the judiciary; restrictions on freedom of the press…,” says the report by the US Embassy in Monrovia on Tuesday, April 12, 2022.
It adds. “there were several reports the government or its agents committed arbitrary or unlawful killings”.
The US report says the rights abuses “violence, intimidation and threats against journalists resulting in self-censorship, and unjustified arrests of journalists; serious government corruption; lack of investigation and accountability for gender-based violence, including child, early and forced marriage, and female genital mutilation/cutting; trafficking in persons; crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, and intersex persons; the existence or use of laws criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual conduct between adults; and existence of the worst forms of child labor.”
In the previous 2020 human report, the US State Deportment virtually came up with identical findings.
“Significant human rights issues included: arbitrary killings by police; cases of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by police; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary detention by government officials; serious problems with the independence of the judiciary; serious restrictions on freedom of the press, including violence and threats of violence against journalists; official corruption; lack of investigation and accountability for violence against women; the existence or use of laws criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual conduct between adults; and the worst forms of child labor,” says the US human rights report on Liberia. https://www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/liberia/
According to the US 2021 report, people who committed atrocities during Liberia’s now ended 14 years civil war, continued to go with impunity, amidst mounting calls by Liberians for the setting up a war and economic crimes court by the government.
“Impunity continued for individuals who committed human rights abuses, including atrocities during the two Liberian civil wars, as multiple investigative and audit reports were ignored. The government made intermittent but limited attempts to investigate and prosecute officials accused of current abuses, whether in the security forces or elsewhere in the government. Impunity continued for government corruption,” the US State Department report says.
Last year, the American government imposed sanctions against on former Liberian warlord now Senator Prince Y. Johnson for his role in the country’s civil war.
Speaking to reports of disappearance of people in Liberia, the US human rights report says “there were no reports of disappearances by or on behalf of government authorities.”
But it says “the public and media continued to allege unresolved disappearances (see section 6, Other Societal Violence or Discrimination).”
The 2021 US human rights report is similar to that of its 2020 report regarding the deplorable conditions of Liberian prisons including “gross overcrowding continued to be a problem. Twelve of the country’s 16 prison facilities were overcrowded.”.
“Prison conditions were harsh and life threatening due to food shortages, gross overcrowding, inadequate sanitary conditions, and poor medical care,” the US report says.
However, the report says the Liberian “government permitted independent monitoring of prison conditions by local human rights groups, international NGOs, the United Nations, diplomatic personnel, and media throughout the year, including both scheduled and ad hoc visits.”