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Monrovia — United States Congressman Chris Smith has stated speedy motion have to be taken in opposition to perpetrators of human rights violations and abuses dedicated throughout Liberia’s 14-year civil struggle.
“Justice delayed is justice denied, however not within the case of Liberia. All perpetrators who dedicated atrocities through the nation’s civil struggle have to be held accountable,” Congressman Smith stated upon receiving 300,000 signatures from members of the Tom Lantos Human Rights Fee for the complete implementation of the Fact and Reconciliation report.
Congressman Smith stated the 300,000 signatures gathered is a “highly effective testimony”, and reveals how Liberians are determined for justice. “The report will make the Congress conscious in regards to the want for tribunal in Liberia,” he stated.
The presentation of 300,000 signatures comes days after advocates for struggle and financial crimes in Liberia petitioned The Tom Lantos Human Rights Fee so as to add extra names of Liberians concerned in acts of corruption to the Magnisky Sanction listing.
The Tom Lantos Human Rights Fee (previously referred to as the Congressional Human Rights Caucus) is a bipartisan caucus of the USA Home of Representatives. Its said mission is “to advertise, defend and advocate internationally acknowledged human rights norms in a nonpartisan method, each inside and out of doors of Congress, as enshrined within the Common Declaration of Human Rights and different related human rights devices.”
The signatures have been obtained from Liberia by Liberia United for Justice & Accountability, World Initiative For Justice, Worldwide Justice Group, and Motion for Justice in Liberia, amongst others.
Decision 1055, which was handed by the Home in December 2018, seeks to affirm robust United States-Liberia ties and assist for democratic ideas and name for full implementation of the Fact and Reconciliation Fee suggestions, together with the institution of an Extraordinary Felony Tribunal for Liberia.
Decision 907 was launched by Consultant Gregory W. Meeks on February 2, 2022 and seeks to affirm America’s dedication to assist progress towards transparency, accountable establishments, and different tenets of fine governance within the Republic of Liberia because it approaches the bicentennial of the arrival of the primary free Black People to Windfall Island, Liberia.
In 2009, the Fact and Reconciliation Fee of Liberia really helpful that Liberia set up a tribunal largely primarily based on the Sierra Leone mannequin to prosecute struggle criminals.
The Ebola disaster delayed implementation of the tribunal throughout Sirleaf’s tenure. The issue is that Liberian president George Weah, who has been in workplace since 2018, appears to have little curiosity in holding the perpetrators of struggle crimes accountable despite the fact that the Fact and Reconciliation Fee doesn’t go away the institution of the Struggle and Financial Crimes Court docket as much as the president’s discretion and requires him to achieve out to the worldwide group.
Whereas Weah has assured the worldwide group at boards just like the United Nations Common Meeting that he’ll work to ascertain a courtroom, these assurances appear to be for export solely; when he returns dwelling, he not solely forgets his guarantees however even denies them, video however.
His said want to achieve out to the senate is just not credible both since, by regulation, the senate has no jurisdiction over the institution of the Struggle and Financial Crimes Court docket. A part of the issue, frankly, seems to be Weah’s personal documented complicity in financial crimes in addition to a lot of his allies’ involvement — together with Prince Johnson, who executed former president Samuel Doe and is now a sitting senator.
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