Civil society organizations working on transitional justice in Liberia have urged President Joseph Boakai to extend his executive order establishing the Office of War and Economic Crimes Courts which expires May 1.
Key mandates of the Office, including a roadmap for Liberia's transitional justice process and a bill for a war and economic crimes court, have yet to be finalized. Earlier this month Dr. Jallah Barbu, executive director of the Office, said a bill for the court will be ready "very soon."
At an event organized by the Liberia Massacre Survivors Association and the Female Lawyers Association of Liberia to forge a collaboration between civil society and the Office on Tuesday, Mr. Adama Dempster, a prominent human rights advocate, said the renewal was important for the country's transitional justice process.
Mr. Dempster said an international and national coalition was drafting a joint statement calling on the government to extend the executive order.
Other human rights leaders at the event included Mr. Molton Farley, a senior investigator with the Global Justice and Research Project, which has expertise in documenting war-related crimes in Liberia; Mr. Seidu Swaray, head of the Liberia Association of Psychosocial Services and Mr. Aaron Weah from the Ducor Institute. The meeting was one of several events civil society, under the banner of the Liberia Association of Civil Society Initiative for Transitional Justice, is holding on the process.
Mr. Dempster challenged his fellow advocates, "to raise the necessary conversation nationally, internationally and regionally for the success of all what we want to see."
"Liberia has come many years since we have not addressed war crimes. How can we convince the international community to support Liberia's war crimes process?" asked Mr. Dempster. "It's not only Dr. Barbu who will be saying it. The Office, in as much as it has its independence, looks up to civil society to remain a mouthpiece to advocate for the Office."
Dr. Barbu said he was upbeat about the renewal of the order.
"If it doesn't achieve its purpose and the person who issue it say, "I na issuing nothing again, da me he shooting? Da himself,"' said Dr. Barbu in Liberian English, amid laughter from the audience. President Boakai was hailed as a champion of accountability by setting up the Office, a decision none of his predecessors were willing to take.
Experts said ensuring the courts were fully operational during his administration, which ends in 2030, it would be a landmark legacy for Mr. Boakai.
Calls for the renewal of the president's executive order come at a crucial time for the Office as the United States which had been expected to provide the bulk of the more than $US10m needed for the court, cut almost all international aid.
Dr. Barbu, who has only been in the role since November, has had a number of meetings with other international donors in which he said "additional promises and commitments" were made. The Swedish government is the only donor to publicly disclose that it has provided funding for support of the Office, in its case, through the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).
As civil society and Dr. Barbu push for the extension of the mandate of the Office, unanswered questions have continued to linger over the expenditure of $US132,000 that was allegedly spent by the Office under the leadership of its first head, Cllr. Jonathan Massaquoi, who has repeatedly ignored requests for comments on the matter. Dr. Barbu, who himself raised concerns among donors in January when he predicted the Office budget would need to be $130,000 a month, has reined that in telling NN/FPA that "a portion of that money ($368,000 from the government's 2024 budget) is still available because, we are spending it judiciously. We want to ensure that we have value for money and that's what we are doing up to this point."
The 2025 Boakai budget had a reduced budget of $300,000 allocated for the Office. Dr. Barbu said he hoped the government would increase that.
Mr. Dempster said civil society had a big role to play in the push for support for the court from international donors. He said they should rally behind the Office.
"We are the voice that has advocated before all of what is happening today, is happening," said Mr. Dempster.
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Meanwhile, Dr. Barbu's office received a boost on Tuesday when the Liberia Council of Churches (LCC), the parent body of all Christians in Liberia, signed a Memorandum of Understanding "to collaborate in achieving the Office's mandate."
"The LCC will support processes leading to the establishment and operationalization of the War and Economic Crimes Courts and the National Anti-Corruption Courts through coordinated efforts of assessment, advocacy, and awareness for OWECC-L's programs and activities," the release said. "The LCC will also educate the public about the OWECC-L's mandate, promoting awareness of Human Rights related issues, and at the same time encourage citizens' participation."
Since the end of Liberia's civil wars more than 21 years ago, the LCC has been a lead advocate for the courts and the full implementation of recommendations of the country's Truth and Reconciliation Commision released in 2009.
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.
