Monrovia-There will be indictments of individuals under the arrangement of the War and Economic Crimes Court (WECC) during the President Boakai’s administration, Cllr. Jallah Barbu has assured Liberians of the government’s commitment of ensuring the establishment and operationalization of the court aimed to address impunity and accountability.
Cllr. Barbu who heads the office of the WECC said the government, in conjunction with members of his team, will work to ensure that such mandate is fulfilled as part of their responsibilities.
Heaping praises on the government for supporting his office and the WECC process, said they are working assiduously and consultatively to ensure that their objectives are met.
Cllr. Barbu said he is certain that nothing will stop the operations for the establishment of the War and Economic Crimes Court in Liberia based on the work they have done over the short period of time and the prospects to achieve other aspects of their works and activities.
He stated: “This is a Liberian process, owned by Liberians and with support from the government and other partners, this will be fulfilled.”
He also disclosed that his office has been assured by President Boakai and his government of the full implementation of their works.
Regarding the continuation of their work amid the death of Senator Prince Johnson, one of the accused for bearing the highest responsibility of war crimes and crimes against humanity, Cllr. Barbu indicated that their works and activities are not centered around the late Senator, special individuals, nor a set group of people, but rather based on conduct to ensure that justice is the order of the day.
“We have a lot to be done, the court will be established and it is not about punishing people but rather bringing about lasting peace to Liberia through the closure process,” he further emphasized.
According to him, to heal the wounds especially of the victims in other to avoid the recurrence, it is key that all Liberians work together in order for the rule of law to prevail.
Speaking further about their works and activities in just three months of operations, Cllr. Barbu told the media that as part of their mandate, his office submitted a written report to President Boakai on their past activities.
He named some of their activities as the holding of several meetings with civil society organizations, partners and the development of a road map for the office. Others are his trips to Sierra Leone and Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to discuss transitional justice practices among others.
At the same time, he informed the media that they have established members of technical committees to work on particular issues as well as their meeting with victim groups among others.
As part of their engagements, Dr. Barbu stressed that they are also doing more outreach, publicity and mitigation in a drive to reach out to everyone.
“We have engaged with High Schools in an effort to educate them and create the necessary awareness and to ensure that we raise a generation who will be law abiding,” he added.
Cllr. Barbu also stated that they did series of collaborative efforts from all levels to ensure that they met their objectives.
“We have committees working on legislative engagements especially due process which is key to our mandate and also a committee on safety and security issues relative to a design structure in case the court structure for example is or will be in Liberia,” he noted.
Speaking to the people, he urged the public to manage expectations as well as the media especially in its messaging to the general populace.
“We want clear messages from the media noting that there are plans in the making to conduct a series of capacity building training for the media in order to further sharpen their skills especially on reporting programs and activities of the office of the establishment of War and Economic Crimes Court in Liberia,” he said.
Moreover, and as part of their global media visibility, Cllr. Barbu disclosed about the establishment of their website which he stated will help in further informing the global population about their works and activities.
“Not everyone will come to us as such, we also established a hotline process to ensure that people can reach out to us through this medium in order to engage us and to share whatever information relevant to our work and activities,” he said.
Meanwhile, the head for the establishment of War and Economic Crimes Court in Liberia has assured the public that with teamwork, efforts and collaboration from all, as well as support, they will endeavor to ensure that impunity is brought to an end in Liberia.
