The Independent National Commission on Human Rights, Liberia’s independent human rights body, has condemned the government for what it calls “the snail pace of support” to the Office of War and Economic Crimes Court of Liberia.
By Anthony Stephens with New Narratives
The Commission issued its critique in a statement after Dr. Jallah Barbu, executive director of the Office, told a gathering of local and international transitional justice stakeholders that the Office had again run out funds. It took several months for the government to release last year’s allocation of funds to Dr. Barbu’s office after he was appointed in November. Now, Dr. Barbu said, the government had yet to release $US300,000 allocated to the Office in the 2025 national budget.
“The Commission asserts that this seeming retrogression leading to the delay in the establishment of the War and Economic Crimes Court, undermines the hopes and aspirations of all Liberians who are seeking accountability for relatives and friends who became victims in the hands of warlords. The Commission reminds the government of Liberia that the duty to ensure the prosecution of war crimes is an erga omnes obligation,” said Cllr. Dempster Brown, head of the Commission, in a statement using the Latin phrase used in international law and meaning “towards all.” “Thus, the government owes it to the Liberian people and the international community to investigate and prosecute those who commit war and economic crimes.”
Dr. Barbu’s complaints about the lack of support to the Office by the government have raised questions among court advocates about President Joseph Boakai’s commitment to the court and Liberia’s overall transitional justice process. The court will hold trials for those accused of bearing the greatest responsibility for what are defined in international law as “international crimes” – war crimes, crimes against humanity and economic crimes.
The Commission is legally mandated to ensure the full implementation of recommendations of Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which handed down its final recommendations in 2009. They include the establishment of a criminal mechanism for gross human rights violations during the country’s two civil wars.
The Commission has also been partially overseeing the implementation of the TRC report recommendation of a so-called “Palava Hut” mechanism. The term “Palava Hut” refers to a physical structure—often a shaded meeting space in the center of a village—where community elders, chiefs, and respected leaders sit to mediate and resolve disputes. The process focuses on dialogue, accountability, forgiveness, and reintegration rather than punishment.
Experts said funding was key to the success of the Office, whose mandates include drafting a roadmap for Liberia’s transitional justice process, drawing up statues and bills for a war and economic crimes court and a national anti-corruption court. The Office is also tasked with the responsibility of undertaking study tours and conducting research on a range of issues, including security and location for the courts, as well as to raise awareness about the court among the population.
Although $US500,000 was allocated to the Office by the new Joseph Boakai administration in the 2024 national budget, Dr. Barbu said he only received $US368,000. Neither the Justice Ministry, in charge of overseeing the court, nor Cllr. Jonathan Massaquoi, Dr. Barbu’s predecessor who was fired in August following a chorus of opposition from leading human rights advocates over the lack of transparency in his appointment, has ignored repeated requests for comment on how he used the balance of $US132,000.
In January Dr. Barbu alarmed donors by revealing that the funds he received from the 2024 budget were exhausted and that the Office was operating on a budget of $130,000 a month.
The funding of the court has become particularly precarious since incoming United States president Donald Trump slashed almost all international aid. The US was expected to provide a large portion of the more than $US10 million experts estimated was needed to get trials underway.
Advocates for the courts said beyond verbally expressing his political will for accountability for past crimes, the president needed to show his commitment for the courts and the country’s transitional justice process overall by ensuring that the Office received full financial, logistical and security support and protection.
Cllr. Brown also expressed concern about what Dr. Barbu said was the absence of security for Dr. Barbu and the Office. Dr. Barbu claimed that the security officers provided by the court had been unwilling to serve in the post. In an interview last week, Col. Gregory Coleman, the Liberian police chief, said he had not received any communication that officers assigned to Dr. Barbu had been withdrawn.
“The Commission requests clarification from the Ministry of Justice/attorney general on reports from the WECC Secretariat that the security detail assigned to the executive director and the premise of the WECC has been withdrawn without explanation, thus posing serious security risk to the officials and the premises of the secretariat.”
This story is a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the West Africa Justice Reporting Project. Funding was provided by the Swedish Embassy in Liberia which had no say in the story’s content.
