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Final month, a particular court docket in Paris sentenced Liberian insurgent commander Kunti Kamara to life in jail for his complicity “in large and systematic torture and inhumane acts” in opposition to civilians in Liberia in 1993-1994. This was the second responsible verdict delivered in Europe for crimes in opposition to humanity referring to Liberia’s bloody civil wars. In June 2021, insurgent commander Alieu Kosiah was convicted of comparable expenses in Switzerland. One other alleged fighter, Gibril Massaquoi, was tried in Finland however was finally acquitted over inadequate proof earlier this yr.
Kamara and Kosiah’s convictions – and even Massaquoi’s prosecution – had been small however much-welcome victories within the battle to ship justice to thousands and thousands of Liberians nonetheless carrying bodily and psychological scars from the battle that claimed greater than 1 / 4 of one million lives between 1989 and 2003.
Below regular circumstances, three trials and two convictions in relation to a brutal 12-year battle that got here to an finish almost twenty years in the past wouldn’t be worthy of a lot discover, not to mention celebration. However the circumstances are usually not regular – these few European convictions and prosecutions are the one concrete steps in direction of holding Liberia’s conflict criminals accountable for the unimaginable ache they inflicted on civilians.
Certainly, Liberia itself is but to strive a single particular person for the numerous conflict crimes dedicated throughout its civil wars.
Over 10 years in the past, in 2009, Liberia’s Reality and Reconciliation Fee issued suggestions that included the institution of a particular court docket for conflict crimes. Nonetheless, regardless of many guarantees by governments, such a court docket by no means materialised.
Liberia is failing to prosecute its conflict criminals primarily as a result of a lot of these criminals have since develop into highly effective politicians. The trail to the presidency within the nation is thru forming alliances with such figures controlling massive voting blocks, so no president appears too wanting to greenlight a complete prosecution effort.
Prince Johnson, a former warlord going through many credible accusations of crimes in opposition to humanity, is now one among Liberia’s longest-serving senators. His affect over the populous Nimba county has made him a obligatory ally to each post-war president within the nation.
In 2020, Liberia’s senate proposed a Transitional Justice Fee (TJC) to be set as much as ship “restorative not retributive” justice to these affected by crimes dedicated through the civil conflict. Nonetheless, even this restrained try went nowhere, main many Liberians to hunt justice outdoors the nation’s borders.
Quickly sufficient, overseas courts – particularly these in Europe – got here to be seen as the one discussion board the place Liberian conflict criminals could be held to account.
However this doesn’t imply prosecutions overseas can absolutely fulfill the Liberian folks’s need for accountability, justice and closure.
There are, the truth is, many pitfalls to looking for justice overseas.
First, Liberians have little entry to trials in different international locations. Most Liberians can not journey internationally to comply with a trial, and courts usually don’t hassle to broadcast the proceedings on-line. This implies individuals who can achieve probably the most from these trials stay uninformed and can’t interact with the proof being unearthed by the prosecution. Lots of Liberia’s mainstream media organisations which are both owned or tacitly managed by native political actors additionally largely ignore these trials.
Second, nations around the globe have little urge for food for “common jurisdiction” prosecutions like those that resulted within the convictions of Kamara and Kosiah. “Common jurisdiction” is a global legislation precept that gives for a state’s jurisdiction over crimes in opposition to worldwide legislation even when the crimes didn’t happen on that state’s territory, and neither the sufferer nor the perpetrator is a nationwide of that state. Such prosecutions are usually not solely time-consuming and dear, however may end up in undesirable altercations between governments in instances the place the prosecuted celebration enjoys state assist.
That is why there have been solely three such prosecutions referring to crimes dedicated over the course of Liberia’s battle thus far. The US, for instance, by no means greenlit any such trial and as a substitute prosecuted Liberian conflict actors just for immigration fraud – arguing that they’ve hid their involvement within the battle of their visa purposes. Whereas these trials can even unearth crimes, they’re by no means best for accountability.
Final however not least, the overwhelming majority of Liberia’s conflict criminals and victims nonetheless reside in Liberia. This implies most victims of conflict can solely get justice if Liberia itself begins prosecuting these being accused of conflict crimes and crimes in opposition to humanity.
In brief, it’s certainly worthy of celebration that a few of those that dedicated heinous crimes in opposition to Liberians through the nation’s civil wars are being put behind bars in Europe. These trials are usually not solely giving victims hope, but additionally serving to native justice organisations to proceed pushing for extra. However, this isn’t almost sufficient.
Because the twentieth anniversary of the battle’s finish quick approaches, it’s excessive time for Liberia’s leaders to cease placing their political pursuits above the wants of the folks, and begin working in direction of establishing a mechanism that may result in significant conflict crimes prosecutions at house.
The views expressed on this article are the writer’s personal and don’t essentially mirror Al Jazeera’s editorial stance.
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