Liberia: Next Steps Towards Accountability for War & Economic Crimes

Hearing Notice

Please join the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission for a hearing on accountability for war and economic crimes in Liberia.  

On May 2, Liberian President Boakai signed an Executive Order to establish the Office of a War and Economic Crimes Court – a major, long-awaited step toward redressing the wounds of the country’s civil wars. The Office is empowered to “investigate, design, and prescribe the methodology, mechanisms, and the processes for the establishment of a Special War Crimes Court,” as well as a National Anti-Corruption Court. 
In recent decades, Liberia’s people have suffered untold human rights violations while perpetrators acted with near-complete impunity during the country’s multiple civil wars. Between 1989 and 2003, 250,000 Liberians died from the fighting, and thousands more were conscripted as child soldiers, raped, suffered loss of limb, and endured other traumatic experiences. Since that time, not a single war crimes trial has occurred in Liberia as part of the country’s judicial process.

Witnesses will examine the legacy of Liberia’s civil wars on its people and economy and the next steps for the new Office of a War and Economic Crimes Court, and offer recommendations for Congress. 

The hearing will be hybrid. Members of Congress will participate in person. Witnesses may participate in person or remotely via Cisco WebEx. The public and the media may attend in person or view the hearing by live webcast on the Commission website. The hearing will also be available for viewing on the House Digital Channel service. For any questions, please contact Mark Milosch (for Co-Chair Smith) or Kimberly Stanton (for Co-Chair McGovern).

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