A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

in accordance with the guidelines in the United Nations Manual on the Effective Prevention
and Investigation of Extra-Legal, Arbitrary and Summary Executions and that autopsies are
conducted in an impartial and independent manner. The family of the deceased should have
the right to insist that a medical or other qualified representative be present at the autopsy.
When the identity of a deceased person has been determined, a notification of death should
be posted, and the family or relatives of the deceased should be informed immediately. The
body of the deceased should be returned to them upon completion of the investigation.
• The Government of Liberia should ensure that complainants, witnesses, those conducting
the investigation, and their families are protected from violence, threats of violence, or any
other form of intimidation. Those implicated in extra-legal, arbitrary, or summary executions
should be suspended from any position of control or power, whether direct or indirect, over
complainants, witnesses and their families, as well as over those conducting investigations.
• The Government of Liberia should ensure that families of the deceased and their legal
representatives are informed of, and have access to, any hearing, as well as to all information
relevant to the investigation, and should be entitled to present other evidence.
• The Government of Liberia should ensure that a written report is made within a reasonable
period of time on the methods and findings of such investigations. The report should be made
public immediately and should include the scope of the inquiry, procedures, and methods
used to evaluate evidence as well as conclusions and recommendations based on findings of
fact and on applicable law. The report should also describe in detail specific events that were
found to have occurred and the evidence upon which such findings were based, and list the
names of witnesses who testified, with the exception of those whose identities have been
withheld for their own protection. The Government should, within a reasonable period of
time, either reply to the report of the investigation or indicate the steps to be taken in response
to it, including termination of anyone found to have engaged in summary executions.
Security Sector: Combating Torture
Because of the longstanding systemic use of torture and other forms of inhuman and degrading
treatment in Liberia’s civilian and military detention systems, effective prohibitions against torture
in the Liberian penal system are essential. The Robben Island Guidelines provide a guiding
framework for protecting Liberians from these practices. The Advocates suggests that the preceding
recommendations on torture set forth in this report also apply. The Advocates recommends the
following:
• The Government of Liberia must ensure the establishment of readily accessible and fully
independent mechanisms to which all persons can bring their allegations of torture and illtreatment.
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• The Government of Liberia must ensure that whenever persons who claim to have been or
who appear to have been tortured or ill-treated are brought before competent authorities an
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Chapter Fourteen