Monrovia, Liberia-June 1, 2021: The National Civil Society Council of Liberia (NCSCL) has Called on the Government of Liberia to Address Human Rights Violations in Liberia. In a press statement issued in Monrovia on June 1, 2021, the Civil Society Council said Liberian government should take the U.S. State Department 2020 Human Rights Report seriously and address human rights violations in the country.

Here is the full statement of the Civil Society Council of Liberia below:

Recently, the United States Department of State published the report titled: “2020 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Liberia”. The National Civil Society Council of Liberia underscores the importance of this report which comprehensively document human rights violations in Liberia during year 2020. This report represents a significant feedback loop forstate actors and development partners to strengthen human rights practices in Liberia.

Thereport covers seven sections of human rights practices; namely: 1) Respect for the integrity of a person; 2) Respect of civil liberties;3) Freedom of participation in the political process; 4) Corruption and lack of transparency; 5) Government’s attitude towards NGOs investigation of alleged abuse; 6) Discrimination, societal abuses; and 7) human trafficking and Workers rights. To yield the full benefits of this report, the NCSCL had undertaken to take at scale the report among civil society organizations and to engage the relevant authorities of the Government to improve human rights practices in Liberia.

To this end, an abridged version of the report has been prepared for popularization. NCSCL rigorously analyzed the contents of the report and as a result quantified at least 143human rights practices mentioned in the report, some of which were gross violations. Of
the143 human rights practices identified, at least NCSCL rated 50 or 34.9 percent as GOOD practices, 34 or 23.8 percent as FAIR and the highest 59 or 41.3 percent as POOR.

Majority of the GOOD human rights practices are related to Respect for civil liberties (19 of the 50 good practices) while the remaining 12 are scantily spread across the other eight sections. Some GOOD human rights practices include: release of pretrial detainees when COVID-19
struck and removal from prisons juveniles to avoid detention. Others are: no report of political prisoners, significant freedom of religion, protection of refugee; cooperation and responsiveness of government officials to human rights activities.

Conversely, POOR human rights practices mainly include arbitrary deprivation of human life (killings);
arbitrary detention by government officials; lack of investigation and accountability for violence against women and children; and serious problem of independence of the
judiciary as well as poor working conditions and the worst forms of child labor.

Also rated very poorly in the 2020 Country Report on Human Rights Practices: Liberia, it’sthe Government’s attitude regarding international and non-governmental investigation of alleged abuses of human rights, including gruesome atrocity committed against humanity during Liberia’s civil wars.

This brings to fore concern regarding the implementation of the Truth and Reconciliation Report. Meanwhile, it is worth mentioning that the National Civil Society Council had strongly declared its full and unwavering support for the establishment of a War and Economic Crimes Court (WECC) for Liberia and the Council is engaged in consultative processes to this end. NCSCL believes the “time is now ripe and appropriate” to fight the culture of impunity in Liberia and put to “an end defiant, unrepentant and
remorseless” postures of alleged perpetrators of war crimes in the full glare of victims of the country’s “atrocities and gruesome acts of mayhems in Liberia.”

In view of the earlier mentioned, the National Civil Society Council of Liberia recommendsto the Government of Liberia the following: 1) improve professional behavior of the Police and other security officers and take other actions to prevent arbitrary deprivation of lifeand related violations; 2) clarify the relevant laws regarding applying for permit to conduct peaceful demonstration or protest; 3) allot adequate fund to the National ElectionsCommission for the conduct of the forthcoming by-elections and for the presidential
elections in 2023; 4) conduct speedy trials of those indicted of various alleged crimes, including corruption and grant the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission prosecutorial power to prosecute cases of corruption; 5) establish war and economic crime court to fight the culture of impunity and to promote genuine peace and reconciliation in Liberia; 6)
allocate adequate resources to implement the Rape and SGBV prevention Road Map; and
7) fully implement the relevant laws and policies to prohibit all of the worst forms of child labor and improve working conditions of workers.

May God bless Liberia and prosper our nation.

~THANKS~