IN THE FACE of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission’s hearing at the US Senate for the possible establishment of a war and economic crimes court for Liberia, the Liberian Senate has given its position on the recommendations of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), presented to them since the TRC completed its obligation in 2008, and responded to President George Manneh Weah’s request for the National Legislature to look into the TRC instrument and provide guidance as to which way the government should go. The Liberian Senate has recommended the establishment of a Transitional Justice Commission (TJC) to build on the work of the TRC.
IN THE PERSPECTIVE of the Liberian Senate, the TRC was proposed at the Accra Comprehensive Peace Accord (ACPA) to purposely provide a forum that would address issues of impunity, as well as opportunity for both the victims and perpetrators of human rights violations to share their experiences, in order to get a clear picture of the past to facilitate genuine healing and reconciliation.
ACCORDING TO THE Senators, it is clear that the purpose for the establishment of the TRC was to propose measures which will ultimately reconcile the people, and not to open old wounds and divide them further. Based on this, programs designed by the administration of ex-President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, such as the Strategic Roadmap for National Healing, Peace-building and Reconciliation and the implementation of the Palava Hut Mechanism, all pointed to the system of restorative justice as opposed to retributive justice.
IN THEIR RECOMMENDATION, the Liberian Senate requested that President Weah sets up a Transitional Justice Commission (TJC) to determine why the TRC recommendations have not been fully and timely implemented, determine whether the TRC fully complied with its mandate, examine the effect of the August 2003 Act of the National Legislature granting general amnesty to all participants in the civil crisis, analyze credibility/legitimacy issues surrounding the Final Report of the TRC, examine the effect of the ratification of Liberia to the Rome Statute in 2004, consider the separation of the establishment of a war crimes court from the establishment of an economic crimes court, review the work and recommendations of the TRC and plan and implement programs and activities to solicit the opinion of the majority of Liberians on the issue of retributive justice versus restorative justice.
THE SENATE ALSO recommended, “The Transitional Justice Commission (TJC) establishment should be enacted into law; while the TJC is working on the issues discussed above, the President should, without delay, continue the National Palava Hut Program, an accountability and traditional dispute resolution mechanism, to foster healing and reconciliation within communities across the country; and, without delay, the government should establish a Reparation Trust Fund. ‘The Trust Fund is aimed at restoring victims and communities worst affected by the conflict. It will help provide psychosocial relief for victims suffering from psychological and physical scars of the war and other community-based reparation programs,’ as indicated in the TRC Report.”
THE FINAL RECOMMENDATION of the Liberian Senate to President George M. Weah was that, in line with one of the recommendations of the TRC, the President of Liberia should offer an official apology on behalf of the state to the thousands of victims and the Liberian people in general for its role in the long conflict and for the injuries and losses suffered by individuals and communities as consequences of the civil crisis.