A House with Two Rooms - The Advocates for Human Rights

Section viii. implementation and international Support
Re-envisioning Liberia: Implementation of TRC Recommendations
The legislation creating the TRC specifies that “all recommendations shall be implemented” 404 and
that the “Independent National Human Rights Commission shall be seized with the responsibility
to ensure that all the recommendations contained in the report of the TRC are implemented.” 405 Past
experience from similar truth seeking bodies around the world demonstrates that implementation
of TRC recommendations is a critical phase of the process, but one that often stalls for a variety of
reasons. While the development of the Independent National Commission on Human Rights will
play a key role in the successful implementation of the TRC recommendations, the Independent
National Commission on Human Rights will need the full support of government, civil society, the
international community, and other actors to ensure that Liberia moves forward. The Principles
relating to the Status of National Institutions (The Paris Principles) 406 provide a guiding framework
for the effective implementation of the recently inaugurated Human Rights Commission of Liberia.
Other tools, including reports from the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights and the
U.N. Mission in Liberia, may provide additional guidance on the role of the Independent National
Commission on Human Rights. The Advocates makes the following recommendations based on
international standards.
Recommendations to the Government of Liberia
• The Government of Liberia and the
Independent National Commission on
Human Rights should ensure timely,
wide, and accessible distribution of
the report of the TRC of Liberia,
in particular its recommendations.
The report and recommendations
should be made readily available to all
stakeholders, in particular the Liberian
diaspora community in the West Africa
sub-region and around the globe.
Moreover, the report should be made
accessible to all Liberians regardless of
language, literacy, age, or disability. 407
477
Chapter Fourteen
Potential Implementation Strategy:
Alternative Formats of the TRC Report
Distribution of the TRC report in video, audio,
Braille, Liberian-English, indigenous dialects where
possible, and in a children’s version should be
considered. All formats of the TRC report should
be made available in electronic form on the
world wide web so as to facilitate diaspora and
international engagement. Copies of the report
in the appropriate format should be delivered
to refugee settlements in the West African subregion.
• The Government of Liberia should move forward without further delay toward the
establishment of the Independent National Commission on Human Rights. Based on
selected provisions from the United Nations Principles relating to the status and functioning