Liberia Human Rights Campaign Condemns Liberian Senate and Liberian National Bar Association Actions To Attempt To Derail The Liberian Reconciliation Process
 On June 24, 2021, the Liberian people could not believe what they were hearing as two top institutions in the country conspired to disrupt the long-awaited Liberian Reconciliation process, the Liberian senate and the Liberian National Bar Association.
The two, pretending to be on opposite sides, displayed one of the greatest collusions, embedded with a national disgrace, to deny the Liberian people of a genuine Reconciliation process. Under their pretenses of working for the country and people, members of both institutions either exposed their limited knowledge of the issues, laws and nuances surrounding the Liberian Reconciliation process, or they just don't care.
The Liberian Senate, whose members, supposedly are elected by the people, is on record of acts, mainly corruption and constitution violations that have been carried out or committed in its Chambers, and this recent action by the members of this body to stripped down the law of the Liberian Reconciliation process, sanctioned by the international community, is consistent with past despicable acts that have been carried out by members of this senate.
The Liberian Reconciliation Act, passed on 10 June 2005, by the Liberian Transitional Legislative Assembly, is clear as to the role of the National Legislature. The Legislature role in the Reconciliation process is as miniscule as only accepting quarterly periodic reports from the president to abreast members of the Legislature regarding progress being made in implementing the TRC report or inquire from the president if such reports are not forthcoming.
The Liberian National Bar Association, or, LNBA, after repeated warnings not to seek new laws to establish a War and economic crimes court, went ahead to submit such bill, to the Legislature, which in actually totally disregarded the existence of the Liberian Reconciliation Act, the Act establishing the Liberian Reconciliation Commission. The act is at its implementation stage. And the LNBA should have been leading the fight to enforce it.
The Liberian Reconciliation Act is not just a Liberian law, neither a law to only address local crimes. It is a law configured to also address international crimes, such as, war crimes and crimes against humanity to which the Liberian National Legislature has power or jurisdiction to change, or cannot be replaced by a petition from a local organization
The attempt by the Liberian Senate and the Liberian National Bar Association to disregard the Liberian Reconciliation Act, mounts to, not only sanctioning the pervasive human rights violations, past and present, but also saying Liberia is no longer requires honoring her international obligations, including international treaties and conventions she signed and rectified.
Liberia Human Rights Campaign, therefore, is calling on all peace loving and patriotic Liberians for an outright rejection of these actions of the Liberian Senate and Liberian National Bar Association, and to use these as bases to strengthen our resolve for a relentless pursuit for a genuine reconciliation through the implementation of the TRC report.
And to our international partners, these recent combined efforts by the Liberian Senate and Liberian National Bar Association are in no representative of the will and pleasure of the Liberian people, therefore, should be ignored.
Signed
Patrick Nimely-Sie Tuon
General Coordinator
Liberia Human Rights Campaign
301 860 2928
tuon2k1@yahoo.com
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