Civil society organisations (CSOs) in Liberia have raised concerns over the election and re-election of warlords and persons accused of war and economic crimes in this month’s legislative election.
Development Diaries reports that the heads of 30 human rights, civil rights, religious, and development organisations raised the alarm as the election of these individuals does an injustice to those who suffered from their crimes.
The organisations, under the Coalition for the Establishment of War and Economic Crimes Court in Liberia (CEWAECCL), said they were disappointed in voters who elected the individuals into public office given their human rights and economic crime records.
The National Elections Commission (NEC) recently declared former INPFL rebel leader and now Nimba County Senator, Prince Johnson, the winner of the senatorial election for his county, keeping him at the Capitol Building for nine more years.
Another former warlord and leader of the former MODEL rebel group, Thomas Yaya, also won the senatorial seat for Grand Gedeh County.
The election of these individuals violates the July 2018 United Nations Human Rights Committee Concluding Observations, which called on Liberia to ensure the implementation of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR).
‘This is a classic example of the continual roadblocks faced by the past legislature, which had a propensity to undermine the quest for justice, accountability, and the advocacy for instituting a war and economic crimes court in Liberia’, CEWAECCL said in a statement.
The coalition reaffirmed its commitment to pursue justice and accountability for war victims and survivors alike, including women and youths, who suffered heinous crimes perpetrated by warlords and fighting groups in Liberia.
Photo source: UNDP
