Most Liberians say a war and economic crimes court would bring long-term peace and stability to the country.
More than three quarters of Liberians have openly backed a war and economic crimes court for their country, according to a new survey released this month by Afrobarometer, an Accra based Pan African non-profit research organization. The survey is a big jump in confidence of citizens for the court from 2021, which was at 41 percent.
By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives
The report said the “citizens think that the war and economic crimes court will make it possible for the country to hold people accountable for crimes committed during the civil war.”
“Confidence that the court will make accountability possible increases with respondents’ level of education ranging from 63 percent of those with no formal schooling to 88 percent of those with post-secondary qualifications,” according to the report. “Rural residents (72 percent) and well-off citizens (67 percent) are less likely to express such confidence than urbanites (82 percent) and those experiencing lived poverty (77 percent-81 percent).”
The survey says 78 percent of Librians support a war and economic crimes court.
The report came at a time when life in the advocacy for the court has been sparked
by Joseph Boakai, Liberian President, with his renewal of the mandate of the Office for the court and the ordering of a six-fold increase in its annual budget from $US313,000 to $US2 million. Experts say the report will add to the flame of reinvigorated energy lit by the president. The report also came at a time when Liberian and international advocates demanded accountability for the estimated 250,000 people killed during the country’s civil wars between 1989-2003. No accused perpetrators have been directly held to account in Liberia for crimes, though there have been trials in Europe and the US for war crimes, crimes against humanity and federal immigration fraud among others respectively.
The survey said “Liberians believe in government accountability,” and that “a majority (58 percent) of respondents say it is more important for citizens to be able to hold their government accountable, ‘even if that means it makes decisions more slowly,” than for the government to “get things done,’ though this reflects a 9-percentage-point decrease compared to 2022 (67 percent).”
The survey also said a greater number of the population in urban areas, or 86 percent said they had heard about the court, slightly higher than the 81 percent in rural areas. Nearly 22 years since the wars ended, Liberia has struggled with reconciliation, with politics, economic hardship and unemployment and allegations of corruption all fueling deep divisions in the country, according to experts. The lack of transparency and accountability regarding public funds has particularly led to “public distrust and apathy towards State institutions,” according to a 2021 report by the UNDP. Although the Boakai administration has repeatedly pledged his commitment to tackling this, critics said it remained a major challenge. Liberia’s Trust and Reconciliation Commission recommended a range of reconciliatory actions to address that and others, including the prosecutions of individuals and institutions accused of corruption and widespread human rights violations and corruption. The commission also recommended “reparations, justice and reconciliation mechanisms, institutional reforms, governance, issues of the Diaspora, national integrity and corruption, the National Human Rights Commission, etc.” But previous governments didn’t not fully implement the report, especially the aspect calling for the court. President Boakai’s administration has also failed to fulfil a pledge to the UN in August of providing reparations to victims and communities affected by the wars. But the TRC report has continued to be used a tool to guide Liberia’s drive to sustainable peace and reconciliation.
The survey said Liberian surveyed in 2022 said that “almost two-thirds (63 percent) of respondents said the commission had helped Liberians get over civil war experiences, and 54% said all victims of human rights abuses during the war had received fair and equal treatment as a result of the commission’s work.”
The report also said “awareness of the government’s plans for a war and economic crimes court is high across key demographic groups, dropping only to seven in 10 among citizens experiencing no lived poverty1 (71 percent) and those who have no formal education (69 percent).”
This story is a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the West Africa Justice Reporting Project. Funding was provided by the Swedish embassy in Liberia. The donor had no say in the story’s content.
