At least 40 rights civil society and rights advocate groups have called on Liberian president George Weah to implement the establishment of war crimes tribunal in Liberia ahead of the 75th UN General Assembly later this month.
It can be recalled that in 2019 president George Weah strongly spoke against impunity during his speech at the UNGA.
However, despite this speech his administration is yet to take tangible action against former warlords in Liberia.
In their letter, the rights advocates called on the Weah administration to take serious the implementation of war crimes court in Liberia as those who committed some of the heinous atrocities during the Liberian civil war are still working freely and intimidating their victims.
The George Weah administration is seen dormant on the issue of war crimes court with the speaker of the house of Representative Bhofal chambers refusing to put on the floor for discussion a bill seeking to establish war crimes courts.
Speaker Chambers has argued that only the Liberian people can decide the establishment of such court through a national referendum.
Former Warlords pushing against
Perpetrators of the civil war in Liberia including Nimba County senator Prince Yormie Johnson have been pushing Weah not to establish war crimes court in Liberia.
In July 2019, Liberian legislators then introduced a resolution backing the war crimes court in the country’s legislature. The resolution, which has been endorsed by 52 legislators – more than the 49 required to be
Adopted, calls for the legislature to establish a court with assistance from Liberia’s international partners.
The 2009 Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report called for the establishment of the Extraordinary Criminal Court for Liberia, a hybrid international-national chamber to try individuals accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and other serious violations of international law.
It remains unclear whether president whether president Weah will implement the TRC’s recommendation; to establish a war crime court in Liberia.
Many political pundits in the country say Weah is now between the scissors as many of his current collaborators hugely contributed to the Liberian civil war that killed more than 250,000 people.
Comments are closed.