Background Briefing

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Recommendations

To the new Government of Liberia

  • Together with the assistance of the international community, develop and put in place a concrete strategy on the most appropriate way to hold accountable perpetrators of war crimes committed during Liberia’s armed conflicts.
  • Implement the Governance and Economic Management Assistance Program (GEMAP) to address ongoing concerns about corruption.
  • Establish the Truth and Reconciliation Commission without delay and ensure that the process of vetting current commissioners occurs without political interference.
  • The president and other public officials should not appoint to public office individuals who are alleged to have been responsible for serious violations of human rights, war crimes, or crimes against humanity.  
  • The new government should establish an independent commission charged with instituting a vetting process to screen out human rights abusers appointed to or under consideration for civil service positions. The commission must be empowered to dismiss any individual found to have credible allegations of the commission of serious violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, or of having been in a position of command responsibility when abuses were committed.
  • The commission should be composed of individuals without direct links to military and political factions, and the process established should include fair trial guarantees.
  • The new president should oppose any legislation providing for amnesty of any elected member of government from prosecution for serious violations of international human rights or humanitarian law.
  • Given concerns about the efficacy of the vetting process for the new Liberian National Police,  ensure that all final recruits for the LNP go though an additional screening to eliminate those believed to have committed serious human rights crimes. 
  • Ensure that information about recruits for the new Liberian National Police and military which emerge during the investigation stage of the TRC is taken into consideration in the selection and retention of personnel for both institutions.
  • Provide the necessary financial and material support to allow the Independent National Commission on Human Rights, established under the 2003 Accra Peace Accord, to effectively undertake its responsibilities.

To donor governments

  • Assist the Liberian government in developing and undertaking a concrete strategy to hold accountable perpetrators of war crimes committed during Liberia’s armed conflicts.
  • Support the TRC with sufficient resources so that a process of documenting atrocities and making recommendations for the prosecution of alleged perpetrators can begin without delay.
  • Support programs aimed at rehabilitating Liberia’s judicial system.
  • Provide the required funding to cover the US $10 million shortfall for the rehabilitation and reintegration phase of the Liberian DDRR program.
  • Call on the Nigerian government to surrender former Liberian President Charles Taylor to the Special Court for Sierra Leone in accordance with international law.
  • Provide financial and technical support to civil society organizations to assist them in playing an active role in the transition toward a democratic society and in monitoring, lobbying, and campaigning for improved human rights standards.
  • Provide funding, technical expertise, and training to the Independent National Commission on Human Rights, established under the 2003 Accra Peace Accord.
  • Provide assistance for the reconstruction of the system for the administration of justice and for other initiatives aimed at the establishment of accountability for crimes under national and international law.

To the United Nations Mission in Liberia

  • Ensure that UNMIL personnel monitor and report on any violations of U.N. sanctions imposed on arms, timber, diamonds, and the travel of people deemed a threat to the region. 
  • Make public the specific criteria used during the vetting process of candidates for the Liberian National Police and ensure that this information is shared with all of those involved in the vetting process.
  • Ensure that there are adequate CIVPOL and Human Rights personnel allocated to the vetting of prospective Liberian police and military.
  • Given the high illiteracy rate in Liberia, ensure that information about potential recruits for the Liberian National Police and army are adequately disseminated on the radio and through leaflets to IDP and refugee camps.
  • Ensure at least one representative from a credible Liberian human rights group is formally included in the vetting process for both the police and military. 
  • Given concerns about the efficacy of the vetting process for the Liberian National Police, ensure that all final recruits for the LNP are subjected to an additional review process that takes into consideration some of the recommendations above. 

To DynCorp

  • Incorporate a comprehensive vetting component to screen out potential military recruits believed to have a history of committing human rights abuses.
  • Make public the specific criteria used during the vetting process of candidates for the Liberian army and ensure that this information is duly shared with all of those involved in the vetting process.

To the U.N. Sanctions Committee for Liberia

  • Urge Nigeria to grant entry to the U.N. Panel of Experts to investigate compliance with sanctions imposed on arms, timber, diamonds, and the travel of individuals deemed a threat to regional peace and security.

To ECOWAS and the African Union

  • Call on the Nigerian government to surrender former Liberian President Charles Taylor to the Special Court for Sierra Leone in accordance with international law.
  • Make public a summary report of the ECOWAS investigation into instances of financial misconduct in the National Transitional Government of Liberia.

To the Government of Nigeria

  • Surrender former Liberian president Charles Taylor to the Special Court for Sierra Leone, which in 2003 indicted him on seventeen counts of crimes against humanity, war crimes, and other serious violations of international humanitarian law for his role in human rights crimes during Sierra Leone ’s civil war.
  • In accordance with U.N. Security Council Resolution 1607, grant the U.N. Panel of Experts permission to enter Nigeria to investigate compliance with the U.N. assets freeze and travel ban of individuals deemed a threat to the region. 



<<previous  |  indexSeptember 2005