By Christain W. Kennedy, Sr.
Kakata, Liberia -A prisoners’ rights advocate has cautioned the Liberian people against perpetuating the culture of impunity by ensuring that those who committed grave atrocities during the country’s civil war be made to account for their actions.
The Country Director for Prison Fellowship Liberia, Rev .Francis S. Kollie believes there is an urgent need to have a call off point to people perpetrating heinous crimes and walking scot-free in society.
“For too long the cries of war victims has been ignored, with perpetrators going with impunity and living lavished lifestyles without remorse or godly fear,” Rev. Kollie said.
He spoke as a panelist at a two-day forum on the establishment of an economic and war crimes court for Liberia, under the auspices of the Civil Society Human Rights Advocacy Platform.
According to him, the establishment of a legal framework that brings to book those accused of pillaging the country’s resources and orchestrating war crimes and crimes against humanity, does not need the approval actors undermining its coming into being.
Rev. Kollie also emphasized that it is useless for anyone to campaign against the establishment of a war and economic crimes court in Liberia at this point, with the UN having already advanced several recommendations backing such a framework.
“It’s a must for the GOL to fulfill the wishes of the Liberian people,” Kollie said.
It can be recalled that a UN Concluding Observation Report released July 2018 on Liberia recommended that the implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report be implemented.
Among other things, the TRC report calls for the prosecution of those who bear the greatest responsibilities for atrocities committed during the country’s years of instability (1979-2003).
The UN Observation Report underscored that “none of the alleged perpetrators of gross human rights violations and war crimes mentioned in the TRC report, has been brought to justice, and that some of those individuals are, or have been holding official executive positions, including in the government”.
The report also notes with concern the absence of a comprehensive program of reparations for victims as well as gross human rights violations committed during the Ebola outbreak here.
The world body wants Liberia to “ensure that all alleged perpetrators of gross human rights violations and war crimes are impartially prosecuted and, if found guilty, convicted and punished in accordance with the gravity of the acts committed, regardless of their status or any domestic legislation on immunities”.
The Civil Society Human Rights Advocacy Platform recently said that it is aware of a recent communication from the UN human rights office to the Legislature in Liberia, regarding its Observation Report on Liberia, in which it called for renewed commitment to implementing the recommendations.