Liberia

Civitas Maxima’s work in Liberia

Liberia as it is known today was founded in 1847 by formerly enslaved African Americans and freeborn Black people from the United States. Its early political landscape was dominated for more than a century by the Americo-Liberian “elite”, which served to deepen longstanding social and political divisions with Indigenous populations.

In 1980, military officer Samuel Doe seized power in a coup d’état, marking a shift of power from the  americo-liberian elite. Samuel Doe’s presidency was marked by human-rights abuses and the appointment of family members and friends to key government positions, many from his own Krahn ethnic group.

Members of the National Patriotic Front of Liberia (NPFL). Photo by Patrick ROBERT

In 1989, Liberia descended into the First Civil War (1989-1996) when rebel forces led by Charles Taylor launched an uprising against Doe. Factional warfare, mass atrocities, and the recruitment of child soldiers became widespread. Although a peace agreement was reached in 1994, it did not hold and factions continued to battle. In 1996, the Abuja Accord ended Liberia’s First Civil War and by mid 1997 Charles Taylor was elected as Liberia’s president. Once elected, he purged his governement of potential rivals, paving the way for the Second Civil War (1999-2003).

By the conflict’s end in 2003, an estimated 250,000 people had been killed, more than 21,000 children had been recruited as child soldiers, and countless civilians suffered torture, sexual violence, forced labor, and displacement. Until today, nobody has ever been investigated or prosecuted in Liberia for the crimes committed during the two civil wars.

The Truth and Reconcilliation Commission and the Establishment of OWECC

In 2005, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia (TRC) was established to promote national peace, security, unity and reconciliation. The TRC took statements from thousands of victims, ex-combatants and political leaders and conducted public hearings across Liberia. In its final report of December 2009, amongst other things, the TRC recommended the creation of  a dedicated prosecution mechanism to adjudicate criminal responsibility for individuals, armed groups and other entities that the TRC determined were responsible for egregious domestic crimes, gross violations of human rights and serious humanitarian law violations. The TRC specified that the mecanism should  be specifically endowed with the authority and jurisdiction to adjudicate domestic, International Human Rights Law (IHRL) and International Humanitarian Law (IHL) violations and provided the first draft of a statute to establish the court.

It was not until 2024 that further action was taken, and President Joseph Nyuma Boakai established by decree the Office for the Establishment of a War and Economic Crimes Court for Liberia (OWECC). This marked a first important milestone towards an accountability mechanism in Liberia and provided renewed hope for advocates for the court. OWECC released a road map in June 2025, which details the plan for the setting up of both a War and Economic Crimes Court and a National Anti-Corruption Court.

During Liberia’s fourth UPR cycle on November 3, 2025, the Human Rights Coucil stressed in its report the “need to ensure accountability for all violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in order to prevent impunity, ensure justice, deter further violations and promote peace” and “also encourages the transitional Government to continue its efforts to ensure accountability for human rights violations”.