HRW asks the US to support the establishment of a war crimes court in Liberia

Human rights organizations demand justice for the war crimes committed in Liberia during the conflicts of 1989 and 1999

Oct. 4 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The NGO Human Rights Watch has asked, along with eight other human rights organizations, that the United States support the establishment of a war crimes court in Liberia to support the victims of the 1989 and 1999 conflicts.

The organizations have called for accountability and investigation of war crimes committed in Liberia’s civil wars (1989-1996 and 1999-2003), in order to support the victims and provide justice and stability in the country.

Activists have urged the United States government to support the victims of the crimes, since this Wednesday the United States ambassador general for global justice, Beth Van Schaack, travels to the African country.

“The people of Liberia have waited too long for justice and accountability for abuses suffered during civil wars,” said Adama Dempter of the Liberian Civil Society Human Rights Advocacy Platform and Secretariat. for the Establishment of a War Crimes Tribunal in Liberia.

In this sense, he stressed that “the United States Government has the opportunity to support the victims of the atrocities committed in the Liberian civil wars by helping Liberia to establish a war crimes tribunal”.

Hassa Bility, of the Global Justice and Research Project, explained that accountability for past crimes in this case has been limited exclusively to cases abroad.

“Liberia needs a dedicated war crimes court so that victims have greater access to justice for the crimes committed against them and a broader range of perpetrators can be held accountable,” he said.

Liberians suffered widespread violations of international law, suffering from mass murder, rape, summary execution, torture or the use of children in combat.

“Liberia has not prosecuted anyone for the serious crimes committed during its two armed conflicts and has yet to establish a war crimes court that the country’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) recommended in 2009,” denounced the organizations in a jointly signed statement.

Nevertheless, criminal responsibility for the atrocities of the time is widely supported, as residents have shown in various marches through the capital, Monrovia, in recent years.

“The United States Government has played a fundamental role in promoting accountability in West Africa,” the signatories of the document have argued. For this reason, they consider that Washington’s participation should be repeated.