A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

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as exacerbating the conflict and leading to loss of life and the destruction of the Liberian nation: • oppressive dominance of the Americo-Liberian oligarchy over the indigenous peoples of Liberia, • greed and corruption at the international, national, corporate, and individual level, • breakdown of the rule of law, • interference of foreign governments in Liberian affairs, • conflicts among indigenous groups, and • failure of the United States to intervene to stop the fighting. Americo-Liberian Dominance As Liberia began to establish itself as a new nation, a small number of Americo-Liberian families and their patronage networks dominated all aspects of government, the security sector, commerce, and social advancement. Government in Liberia was the domain of the Americo-Liberian controlled True Whig Party. Although other political parties existed, opposition to True Whig Party dominance was systematically repressed. Control of the Liberian territory and the indigenous tribes that lived there was established by the Liberian Frontier Force, later named the Armed Forces of Liberia (AFL). Commerce with the outside world was centrally controlled by the Monrovia-based government to the detriment of those who lived outside the city. TRC statements reflect the opinion that this oligarchic governance structure led to an excessive concentration of power in the presidency, lack of education and other opportunities for those of non-Americo-Liberian origin, and impunity for corruption and systematic human rights abuses. The administrations of Presidents William Tubman and William Tolbert sought to reach out to the indigenous tribes and increase their involvement in government and society. Their efforts, however, were perceived by many to be insufficient, and their administrations were perceived to be corrupt. In 1979, rumors and widespread belief that President Tolbert planned to raise the price of rice to economically benefit him and his family led to protests and demonstrations known as the Rice Riots. The Tolbert administration’s brutal suppression of the Rice Riots and the administration’s use of foreign troops further entrenched the socio-economic and ethnic divides in Liberian society and heightened popular grievances. Many who provided TRC statements perceived the Rice Riots to have been the beginning of Liberia’s civil crisis. Corruption Liberia has significant natural resources, including timber, gold, diamonds, and rubber. Historically, the majority of Liberians have not benefited significantly from the exploitation of these natural resources. 6
The concentration of state power among a few influential families meant that the government served the financial interests of those families and their networks. Special deals were reached with a multitude of foreign business interests. Most notably, the 1925 lease of one million acres of land on highly favorable terms to the Firestone Rubber Company led to the creation of the world’s largest rubber plantation. In the late 1920s the True Whig Party forcibly recruited workers for the Firestone plantation and other projects through its Labor Bureau and the Liberian Frontier Force, which meted out harsh punishments to indigenous leaders unable or unwilling to supply workers. A League of Nations investigation of the practices led to the resignation of one Liberian president. Labor practices at Firestone remain the subject of ongoing litigation in U.S. federal court. With the concentration of power and lack of economic opportunity, corruption and abuse of power spread to virtually all sectors of Liberian government. Corruption became endemic across ministries, the security forces, civil service, and the judiciary. Liberians have had little faith in judicial institutions to protect their interests or fundamental rights. Inadequate compensation for judicial officers and the influence of Liberian patrimonial governance structures subjected the judiciary to political, social, familial, and financial pressures. In addition, corruption and abuse of power in the security forces went unchecked by the judiciary and the state, leading to further deterioration of the rule of law. The breakdown in the rule of law and a history of pervasive illicit enrichment frustrated those seeking true democratic change in Liberia and led some to advocate the use of force to attain change. These entrenched aspects of life in Liberia exacerbated behavior during the civil conflict. Vigilantism became widespread, with multiple statement givers reporting that combatants used their newfound power to seek revenge for past losses. Wartime looting 7 Chapter One
Page 1 and 2: A House with Two Rooms Final Report
Page 3 and 4: This report is dedicated to the peo
Page 5 and 6: The Advocates for Human Rights The
Page 7 and 8: Table of contents Acknowledgments x
Page 9 and 10: The Return 374 Chapter Fourteen. Re
Page 11 and 12: Lindquist & Vennum LLP Maslon Edelm
Page 13 and 14: Finally, The Advocates thanks our i
Page 15: Table of Acronyms ACANA African Cul
Page 19 and 20: 3 Chapter One. Executive Summary Al
Page 21: also spoken. Liberia was partly sha
Page 25 and 26: factions as they emerged to contest
Page 27 and 28: thirteen years old. They dragged he
Page 29 and 30: or guiding children and others who
Page 31 and 32: are extremely high, but the realiti
Page 33 and 34: Addressing the legacy of conflict t
Page 35: Notes 1 TRC Diaspora Statement Rec.
Page 39 and 40: Priority Recommendations at a Glanc
Page 41 and 42: (UNHCR) should ensure that any repa
Page 43 and 44: individuals personally responsible
Page 45 and 46: eflect its history and people. Such
Page 47: 31 Chapter Two
Page 51 and 52: hiStory and goalS Chapter Three. Di
Page 53 and 54: Commissioner Massa Washington, who
Page 55 and 56: 39 Chapter Three Many national trut
Page 57 and 58: 41 Chapter Three The TRC Diaspora P
Page 59 and 60: The majority of TRC statements from
Page 61 and 62: 45 Chapter Three The report authors
Page 63: taking and is available for viewing
Page 66 and 67: geography and peopleS 1 Liberia is
Page 68 and 69: key featureS of liBerian culture Li
Page 70 and 71: Liberian settler politics from 1883
Page 72 and 73:
President Tolbert. 76 Tolbert was a
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peace, security, unity and reconcil
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practices as superior to practices
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would have to make concessions to i
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statement giver reported how his ne
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targeted. For example, people with
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chickens, food, animals, and things
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televangelist Pat Robertson’s Fre
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33 The palava hut is a traditional
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Special Court for Sierra Leone, htt
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Press Secretary to Samuel K. Doe, i
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see also Herman J. Cohen, Assistant
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81 Chapter Five Human Rights Abuses
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military to shoot the mostly indige
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Human rights violations reported du
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around, all derisively gazing at th
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soldiers reportedly engaged in loot
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eleased. 63 Checkpoints and Curfews
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In 1984, this statement giver himse
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dorms and raped for several days be
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Ethnic Targeting Doe’s revenge ag
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and stripping billboards of Doe. 14
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government were another step on Lib
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34 The statement giver’s father d
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108 Adewale Maja-Pearce, The Press
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108
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110
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all groups committed human rights v
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faction for companionship and prote
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Statement givers noted the rewards
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We were on the road and some rebels
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Combatants used other methods to co
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BBC was careful not to broadcast di
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42 See TRC Diaspora Statement Recs.
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126
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128
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methods condoned, encouraged, or ev
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“Starvation of civilians as a met
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where there was “a wall running w
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were Kru, Sarpo, Lorma, or Bassa du
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plastic and my sister’s fingers w
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If you are a man and wear a red T-s
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Those responsible for the detention
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We didn’t want to leave Monrovia.
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The terroristic impact of the killi
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his bare hand and because of that,
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okered peace accords, 195 disarmame
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the woman was from. She replied tha
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Doe’s body for political reasons.
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Another statement giver stated that
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iSe of other factionS The years bet
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Statements and secondary sources re
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One day some men from the LPC came
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epresentatives selected by the vari
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families, 409 killing, 410 and seek
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Statements revealed that ECO-MOG pl
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Notes 1 stePHen ellis, tHe mAsk of
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96 TRC Diaspora Statement Rec. 1354
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Every Car Or Moving Object Gone: Th
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Report.aspx?ReportId=57838 (last vi
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180
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182
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Liberian treasury and had plenty of
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group supported by Guinea and forme
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homes and in public. A statement gi
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of being beaten while in detention.
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an informant, but was never brought
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Acts, such as murder, extermination
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publisher. After that, the reporter
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97 Children and Armed Conflict, sup
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200
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202
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Estimates of the number of child so
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ex-combatants interviewed by Human
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of the conflict, but in 1996, lost
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Use of Child Soldiers National Patr
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that they were never paid and relie
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He thought the commanders provided
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Some former child soldiers acknowle
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Another statement giver credited a
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21 Promises of Peace, supra note 7
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224
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226
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The statute creating the TRC also r
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Legal Systems The division of Liber
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of regulated labor. According to th
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the young woman that “trading sex
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context, but rather is a violation
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In addition to inflicting torture o
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One statement giver described an at
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A public hearing witness also testi
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The rebel who raped me was named An
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I was befriended by an elderly woma
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through the destruction of familial
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community displacement, as well as
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eceive adequate treatment following
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Notes 1 U.N. Div. for the Advanceme
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University (Sept. 23, 2008) (noting
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(transcript on file with the author
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204 Id. 205 See U.N. Country Team,
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262
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264
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egime, Libyans had also established
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Taylor. Côte d’Ivoire’s combin
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Endemic corruption during the civil
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A final complicating factor in the
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Liberia was the largest producer of
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at 4 (Nov. 2003), http://www.issafr
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certificates of origin from Liberia
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119 Liberia - UNOMIL Background, Au
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282
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284
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national seal with the motto “The
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government, the U.S. Navy sent two
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Nevertheless, diplomatic officials
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and shootings that resulted in deat
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intervene and that we didn’t do i
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$525,000 on June 21, 2000 and the s
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87 TRC Diaspora Statement Rec. 707.
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300
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302
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families fled to avoid attack when
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homes. One statement giver describe
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Everyone Scattered When the rebels
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abies and ran to the bush as fast a
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helped me and paid for everything.
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Liberians engaged in an array of ta
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compound was later forced to go to
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Physically crossing the border was
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One statement giver who escaped Lib
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Guinea, and Côte d’Ivoire, and r
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statement givers as the reason they
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were rounded up and held in “conc
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change left many who arrived in Bud
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This leads [him] and others to use
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[A], you’re still living. We will
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here with my children and step-chil
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families are now leaders in governm
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Refugees entering the United States
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Some asylum seekers have been unabl
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life after reSettlement The length
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plane tickets, which we would later
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“Even your younger brother will t
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in a university. We are looked at a
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given rise to problems within the h
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y learning the material. 413 Additi
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Liberians also reported concerns ab
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For example, foreign medical profes
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association websites in the United
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matter, for-profit businesses), cer
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yet typical, trauma by the time the
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actually moved out of state. I know
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inter-tribal mixing occurs than eve
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A researcher interviewing Liberians
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Several statement givers and interv
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Alliance of Liberia (PAL), and the
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After the establishment of peace in
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Notes 1 See Steven Vertovec, The Po
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ehind the back, tied at the elbow s
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Refugee Registration, UNHCR news st
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had arrived after 2003 were allowed
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266 Id. 267 Id. 268 Id. 269 TRC Dia
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Liberians “(1)who are ineligible
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Women’s Association (MAWA), Minne
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Kingdom (Sept. 29, 2008) (describin
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Anner, Sept. 4, 2008, http://www.ba
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552 See, e.g., Assoc. Press, Liberi
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614 See Nina Glick Schiller, Long-D
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398
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400
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liBeria’S international legal oBl
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• Protocol on the Statute of the
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include suggestions for making the
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• Given the extent of the Liberia
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While such programs are important f
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• The Government of Liberia shoul
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on the Rights and Welfare of the Ch
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young persons, without discriminati
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education, such as adult literacy c
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person’s choice, the government s
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are accessible to vulnerable popula
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Potential Implementation Strategy:
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the victims concerned where the con
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identified by the Liberia Refugee R
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Personal Integrity & Dignity: The R
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Personal Integrity & Dignity: Prohi
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treatment appropriate to their stat
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Security Sector Potential Implement
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Security Sector: Combating Extra-Le
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investigation will be initiated. In
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• Continuous training in the prov
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• Ensuring that the government do
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o incorporates capacity building of
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ut also retain the benefits to the
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emoved. Civil Claims • The Govern
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Section vi. economic, Social, and c
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or injury. 308 • The Government o
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field of education and, in particul
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Healthcare the personal and cultura
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society to mental health issues and
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situations of armed conflicts or of
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encourage research on the causes, n
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ecognition. 393 • The Government
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men; • The Government of Liberia
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of national institutions for protec
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Recommendations to the Internationa
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financing of reasonable buffer stoc
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Section ix. recommendationS related
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the United States Government take t
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Asylee-Refugee Parity Liberian refu
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• The United States Government sh
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to ensure that Liberians are able t
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concluSion The Liberia TRC Diaspora
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Notes 1 An Act to Establish the Tru
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66 Convention on the Rights of the
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156 Id. Principle 15.2. 157 Convent
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231 by the Minnesota Lawyers Intern
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Principle 24(b). 287 Id. Principle
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nl/~mtrapman/xgasten/nizw/WHODeclar
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Commissions 31-32 (2006); U.N. Prin
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512
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514
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Bachelor of Arts in political scien
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518
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520
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II. Sources of International Law Ar
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Bill of Rights.” 27 In turn, this
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• to the highest attainable stand
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iv. Specific Application of Interna
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iii. The Convention against Torture
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D. Regional Human Rights Instrument
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(i.e., complaints) may also be sent
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due to the national emergency. In s
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Conventions I-IV that apply only in
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treaties include the Convention on
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• International Convention on the
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U.N.T.S. 171 [hereinafter ICCPR]; I
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114 Id. art. 25, 26. 115 Human Righ
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201 The date following the treaty o
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550
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552
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The Organization of African Unity (
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d. Asylum from Persecution The poli
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origin, fortune, birth or other sta
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Notes 1 u.s. Committee for refugees
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48 Id. art. 26. 49 1951 UN Refugee
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564
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566
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Standing Mediation Committee to bri
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May 2001 - U.N. Security Council re
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572
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574
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1. Background to the TRC 2. Designa
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Advisory Committee resources, Minne
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as stated herein, consistent with t
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C. Recommendations, if appropriate,
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584
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that rich information about the dia
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governmental organizations, law fir
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596
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Table 3. Participation of Statement
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602
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Photo Legend Chapter One Page 1: TR
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Page 266: Ghana’s Atlantic coast.
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610
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A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

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