MONROVIA: The 2022 Human Rights country report on Liberia released by the United States Department of State has disclosed that there is no specialized court to address lawsuits seeking damages for human rights abuses, but individuals or organizations may seek remedies for human rights abuses through domestic courts or administrative mechanisms.
According to the report on Liberia, the constitution stipulates the creation of a claims court, but it had not been established at year’s end.
The report stated that, human rights abuses are generally reported to the Independent Commission on Human Rights (INCHR), which then refers cases to relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Justice.
The report indicated that, in some cases, individuals and organizations may appeal adverse domestic decisions to regional human rights bodies after all domestic redress options have been exhausted.
The report said while there is an Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Court of Justice to address human rights abuses in member states, few citizens were aware of it or could afford to access this court, and national courts did not always honor ECOWAS court rulings.
The report said a variety of domestic and international human rights groups generally operated without government restriction, investigating, and publishing their findings on human rights cases.
The port stated that, Government officials often were cooperative and responsive to their views.
On the issues of retribution against Human Rights Defenders (HRDs), the report noted that, in June, civil society organizations and the international community decried threats of violence received by justice activist Hassan Bility and his team at the Global Justice Research Project, a civil society organization whose work in gathering evidence regarding crimes committed during the country’s two civil wars led to the convictions of three war criminals and charges against nearly a dozen more.
The report said the INCHR has a mandate to promote and protect human rights; investigate and conduct hearings on human rights abuses; propose changes to laws, policies, and administrative practices and regulations; and counsel the government on the implementation of national and international human rights standards.
The report further disclosed that the INCHR also created a monitoring unit to receive and analyze reports from field offices and prepare quarterly and annual reports consistent with its statutory mandate.
The report emphasized that, the government had not implemented most of the recommendations contained in the 2009 Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report as mandated in the wake of two civil wars.
Even though the President is required by law to submit quarterly progress reports to the National Legislature on the implementation of TRC recommendations, President George Weah had not done so since taking office in 2018. Progress on the majority of the TRC recommendations remained stalled, and impunity for alleged atrocity crimes remained a major challenge.
Alleged war criminals from past conflicts continued to avoid accountability, and some held positions of influence in government and politics.
The Human Rights Protection Unit of the Ministry of Justice convened coordination meetings to provide a forum for domestic and international human rights NGOs to identify abuses to the government, but the unit was ineffective.
