Liberia’s president has issued an executive order to establish a war crimes court, marking a major step towards seeking justice for the atrocities committed during the country’s two civil wars, which killed around 250,000 people between 1989 and 2003.
The announcement came after Liberia’s Parliament, including some members who could face prosecution, passed a resolution to set up the court last month. President Joseph Boakai, as he signed the order on Thursday, said, “For peace and harmony to have a chance to prevail, justice and healing must perfect the groundwork.” His remarks were met with applause from lawmakers and ministers present at the event.
While some perpetrators have been prosecuted abroad, none have faced legal consequences within Liberia for the horrific acts of violence, rape, torture, and the conscription of child soldiers that devastated the nation over decades. However, it remains unclear how many cases the court might handle and when trials could begin, given that many perpetrators and victims have since died.
Along with the war crimes court, the executive order also established a framework for an economic crimes court to address those who financed the various factions during the civil wars. However, further legislation is required to fully establish the new court.
For many in Liberia, the news of a war crimes court was unexpected. Adama Dempster, a rights advocate who experienced the horrors of the civil wars first-hand, remarked, “Nobody expected this would come.” As a school student in northeastern Liberia, he saw friends recruited as child soldiers and witnessed numerous crimes, including summary executions. He has spent years advocating for justice and the creation of a war crimes court.
Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission, which was formed nearly two decades ago, recommended in 2010 that a court be set up to try those responsible for the atrocities, as well as to pay reparations to the victims. However, neither the administration of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who served from 2006 to 2018, nor her successor, George Weah, acted on those recommendations, citing a lack of resources and security concerns.
On Thursday, President Boakai emphasized the need to establish the truth about the violence and “justly apportion the blame and rewards wherever they may lie.” The executive order, however, did not mention reparations.
Liberia’s first civil war erupted in 1989 when the warlord Charles G. Taylor launched a rebellion to overthrow the military regime led by President Samuel Doe, who was later mutilated and killed by another warlord, Prince Johnson. Now a prominent senator, Johnson filmed himself drinking beer while ordering his men to cut off Doe’s ears. The second civil war, which began in 1999, involved two rebel groups attempting to overthrow Taylor, who had by then become president.
The delay in establishing the war crimes court was largely due to the fact that key players in the wars had gained political power and influence within the government. Tennen B. Dalieh Tehoungue, a scholar focusing on justice and peace-building at Dublin City University, noted, “They refused to endorse any measure or mechanism that had punitive actions in it.” However, in the end, Prince Johnson and others signed the resolution calling for the establishment of the court.
The reasons behind their eventual agreement to establish the court are unclear. Tehoungue suggested that it might be due to “big-man syndrome,” with key figures believing that they would remain immune from prosecution even if a court were created.
After signing the resolution, Johnson told reporters in Monrovia, the capital, that he supported peace and wanted to avoid trouble. He also defended his own role in the war, stating, “I am a brave soldier. I came to liberate my people.”
The wars left deep scars, with hundreds of thousands killed, raped, or displaced. Charles Taylor, who once ran for president with the slogan “He killed my ma, he killed my pa, but I will vote for him anyway,” is currently serving a 50-year sentence for his role in Sierra Leone’s civil war. However, he has never been tried for his actions in Liberia’s wars.
Many Liberians expressed relief that justice might finally be served. Dempster, the human rights advocate, remarked, “Many victims and survivors never believed there would be justice in their time.”
