Liberia and the Implementation of International Law - Challenges and Prospects

28 November 2025
The Liberian Investigator (Monrovia)
opinion By Rose K. Zayzay

Published: November 28, 2025

International Law governs the relations between territories and facilitates peace and diplomacy amongst states and nations. Liberia is in West Africa and is recovering from civil wars, various political changes and the rebuilding of its economy and civil society, and Most likely, the practice of International Law, Civilizational Law poses new challenges. International Law is the law of treaties and conventions and customary law and the rulings of the judicial organs of the various states. Liberia has been a member of the United Nations and is a signatory to a number of instruments, and thus, Liberia is under an international legal obligation to respect and perform the International Law. However, the practice of International Law is also subject to the law and the system of the country, the political and diplomatic relations of the country, the history and the socio-economic conditions of the country. (UNHRC, 2020)

Challenges in Implementing International Law in Liberia

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Addressing the issues of weak legal and institutional frameworks in Liberia is much needed. During the 1989-2003 civil wars, the enforcement and the judiciary institutions were systematically weakened. Courts are chronically and severely understaffed, which results in large gaps of delays and inconsistent enforcement of even the most basic laws. Liberia is party to most of the most pertinent legal instruments, including the Rome Statute of the ICC and the Geneva Conventions, and even some of the core human rights treaties such as the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). There is, however, a very evident lag in incorporating such instruments into domestic legislation and practice, thus resulting in a continuum of gross human rights abuse such as abuse and violation of women's rights, and even expression rights, among others, which the legal frameworks are supposed to protect. (Human Rights Watch, 2022) There are considerable political corruption and interference which have a similar negative consequence on the enforcement. In Liberia, patronage systems diminish the independence of the judiciary. This leaves the legal framework to operate on a purely political discretion. International law is supposed to be uniformly applied, with no political considerations, however, in practice, it is very much the opposite. The absence of forensic evidence, investigatory legal frameworks, and legal expertise make Liberia's prosecution of international crimes, such as war crimes, genocide, and crimes against humanity, almost impossible, and these factors further set the country's international obligations into a vicious cycle of non-compliance. Liberia's compliance with international obligations is made even more complex by the country's low-income status and the overwhelming percentage of the population living in poverty. Liberia, like each nation, is compelled to obtain a myriad of international obligations, such as from trade law, human rights law, environmental law, etc. Liberia, like each nation, is compelled to obtain a myriad of international obligations, such as from trade law, human rights law, environmental law, etc. These complex obligations, combined with the focus on more pressing developmental needs and overwhelming public expenditure priorities, make fulfilling these international obligations almost impossible. (African Union Commission, 2020) (International Crisis Group, 2020)

The Potential in Liberia to Implement International Law

The breadth and depth of obstacles facing Liberia in respect of international law implementation are not of an impossible nature. Legal and institutional frameworks of the country could be improved through various means, and improvement would be achieved in a rational and targeted manner. In collaboration with the UN and ECOWAS, Liberia has already achieved real progress in the improvement of the reform of the judiciary and other legal and administrative frameworks. Capacity building in the education of law enforcement and legal education at the level of the judicial system will certainly enable the defending and enforcement mechanisms of the international legal order to actively function at a higher level. (UNDP, 2021) (Kromah, 2021)

There are other opportunities to be realized from international and regional collaboration. Liberia's relations with ECOWAS and the African Union enable peer relations, collaboration on legal frameworks, and provision of technical assistance. There are mechanisms for accountability and recommendations from international human rights NGOs and treaty monitoring bodies. Liberia's own participation in the UN Human Rights Council in the context of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) has already incorporated some of the recommendations on legal and institutional reforms. (African Union Commission, 2020)

Civil society and local participation are also of great relevance in the implementation of international law. Reform advocacy, compliance monitoring, and awareness raising are also the roles NGOs, media, and civil society movements implement. In Liberia, civil society has championed initiatives to fulfill international obligations on gender equity, child protection, and election monitoring. The implementation of the rule of law, particularly Liberia, requires in informal ways an accountable citizenry. (Aning & Lartey, 2018)

Liberia's post-conflict situation also has prospects for the incorporation of international law into transitional justice and reconciliation. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the Special Court for Sierra Leone dealt with Liberian actors and demonstrated how international legal regimes can be of assistance even at the bottom local level in addressing the aftermath of atrocities, accountability, and the promotion of peace. These lessons can enable Liberia to more deliberately incorporate international instruments into policy and practice. (Ankumah, 2017)

Conclusion

Liberia operates internationally based on a historical record of positive and negative relations cross-politically, socio-economically as well as psycho-socially. The rudimentary formation of the political system doesn't encapsulate the institutional frameworks, the administratively and legally binding frameworks, and underdevelopment which gives an account of the real absence of the system of international law Ethiopia possesses. The civil policies which are proactive and the pre-negotiated reconciliation make positive oversight possible. From the above, it can be inferred that legal policies need to be reconciled with the legal and administrative units of the state relevant to the private and public actors. Liberia will be in a better position on the global platform, and the international and domestic legal, political, and socio-economic conditions of the people will be improved by international law. (Jallah, 2019)

Reference(s)

African Union Commission. (2020). African governance report 2020: Promoting African shared values. Addis Ababa: African Union. The Africa Governance Report: Promoting African Union Shared Values | African Union

Aning, K., & Lartey, E. (2018). Peacebuilding and the rule of law in post-conflict African states: Lessons from Liberia and Sierra Leone. Journal of Peacebuilding & Development, 13(2), 45-59. Peacebuilding and Rule of Law in Africa: Just peace?

Ankumah, E. A. (2017). The role of the International Criminal Court in Africa: Assessing the impact in Liberia. African Journal of International and Comparative Law, 25(3), 345-364. https://doi.org/10.3366/ajicl.2017.0201

Government of Liberia. (2018). National human rights action plan (2018-2023). Monrovia: Ministry of Justice. NATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS ACTION PLAN OF LIBERIA (NHRAP)

Human Rights Watch. (2022). World report 2022: Liberia. New York: Human Rights Watch. Retrieved from

World Report 2022 | Human Rights Watch

International Crisis Group. (2020). Liberia: Time for much-delayed justice. Brussels: ICG Africa Report No. 262.

Liberia: Time for Much-Delayed Reconciliation and Reform

Jallah, K. (2019). Strengthening judicial independence in post-conflict Liberia. Liberian Law Review, 7(1), 22-39

(PDF) THE IMPACT OF JUDICIAL REFORMS ON LEGAL SYSTEMS: A REVIEW IN AFRICAN COUNTRIES

Kromah, M. A. (2021). Post-war reconstruction and the rule of law in Liberia. African Journal of Legal Studies, 14(1), 67-84. The Appointment of Commissioners of the Independent Electoral Commission in Botswana in: African Journal of Legal Studies Volume 17 Issue 3 (2025)

United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). (2021). Liberia rule of law annual report 2021. Monrovia: UNDP Liberia. UNDP Liberia 2021 Annual Report | United Nations Development Programme

United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC). (2020). Universal periodic review: Liberia national report. Geneva: Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). Universal Periodic Review | OHCHR

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