- Justice Minister N. Oswald Tweh pushed back Thursday against accusations that his ministry is blocking the establishment of Liberia's War and Economic Crimes Court, calling the claims false and extending a direct invitation to the court's establishment office for immediate talks to break what he acknowledged is a deepening institutional deadlock.
Speaking at a high-level dialogue on corruption and accountability organized by the European Union in partnership with the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Tweh responded pointedly to public allegations by Dr. Jallah A. Barbu, executive director of the Office for the Establishment of the War and Economic Crimes Court in Liberia, who had accused the Ministry of impeding the process.
"The characterization that the government is frustrating the process is false and misleading," Tweh said.
A Technical Problem, Not a Political One
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The minister framed the delays as a consequence of legal complexity rather than institutional resistance. Several draft bills outlining the court's structure have been submitted by various stakeholders, including OWECC-L itself. Tweh said those drafts are currently being reviewed and reconciled into a single, comprehensive legal instrument before submission to the Legislature, a process he described as necessary to eliminate conflicting provisions and ensure the final framework meets both domestic legal standards and international accountability requirements.
On funding, Tweh rejected the suggestion that the government has deliberately starved OWECC-L of resources. The problem, he said, is procedural: the office has not submitted a spending plan that complies with Liberia's public financial management framework, a requirement that applies to all government-funded institutions. Disbursing public funds outside that system, he argued, would contradict the very accountability principles the court is meant to embody.
He also acknowledged coordination gaps between institutions involved in the process, stopping short of assigning blame but making clear that the absence of structured, sustained collaboration among stakeholders has contributed to the slowdown.
An Olive Branch With Conditions
The most significant development from Tweh's appearance Thursday was his open invitation to Barbu and OWECC-L leadership for direct, immediate engagement, structured discussions aimed at finalizing a harmonized draft bill and establishing a workable funding framework.
The offer signals that the ministry is aware the public dispute has reached a point where continued exchanges through press statements and radio appearances are doing more damage than good. Whether Barbu accepts, and on what terms, will determine whether the two institutions can move past a standoff that has increasingly consumed attention that should be directed at building the court itself.
Tweh also addressed the ministry's supervisory relationship with OWECC-L, noting that it has deliberately exercised restraint in that role to protect the office's operational independence and avoid any appearance of political interference -- a balance, he said, that is essential to the court's credibility.
Words Versus Results
Tweh closed with language that has become familiar in Liberian accountability discourse.
"The people and victims of Liberia deserve truth, justice, and reconciliation," he said. "The Government will not be deterred from delivering the War and Economic Crimes Court."
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The statement is one Liberians have heard, in various forms, across three successive administrations spanning 16 years since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission delivered its final report in 2009. Each government has reaffirmed the commitment. None has delivered the court.
President Joseph Nyuma Boakai came to office with accountability as a signature pledge and signed Executive Order No. 131 in May 2024 establishing OWECC-L to coordinate the court's creation. That the office's own executive director is now accusing senior government officials of stalling, and that the justice minister is responding not with a draft bill but with an invitation to talk, suggests the gap between commitment and delivery remains as wide as it has ever been.
Victims' groups, civil society organizations and international partners present at Thursday's dialogue have consistently said they will measure the government's sincerity by what it produces, not by what it promises. On that measure, the clock is running.
