NAD Netzwerkafrika Deutschland reported on March 8th that the Lower House of the Liberian Parliament had accepted a motion to establish a War Crimes Court—after a delay of over two decades and after a disastrous civil war ended.
In 2009, the Truth and Reconciliation Commission had recommended the establishment of such a Court in 2009. However, the motion was rejected, partly because of the continued influence of a number of accused Warlords.
Around a quarter of a million people died during the civil war in Liberia between 1989 and 2003. Atrocities included massacres, rape, cannibalism, and the forced recruitment of child soldiers.
The wars also concerned ethnic differences between local people, as well as the conflicts of the Warlords over political power and the country’s natural resources.