By: Nat Nyuan-Bayjay,interlink2004@yahoo.com (231-6-402737/77-402737)

Photo on Flickr by tweefur

Several civil society organizations in Liberia have given the Government of Liberia a 60-day ultimatum to reconstitute the Independent National Commission on Human Rights (INCHR) as well as take appropriate action aimed at resolving all legitimate concerns leading to the process.

In 2005, the National Transitional Legislative Assembly (NTLA) of the Interim Government of Liberia in cognizance of the Comprehensive Peace Accord (CPA)’s provision duly legislated an Act bringing into existence the Independent National Commission on Human Rights that will serve as the succeeding institution of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) that ended its three-year mandate on the 30th of June, 2009.  The establishment of the INCHR to implement the TRC’s recommendations is in accordance with Article X, Section  46 which states: “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 and that civil society organizations and moral guarantors of the CPA shall be seized of the responsibility to monitor and campaign for the scrupulous implementation of all recommendations contained in the report.”

In their final communiqué carved at the end of an intensive two days forum held in the conference room of Cape Hotel in Mamba Point, the civil society organizations called on the Government of Liberia to urgently take appropriate measures aimed at resolving all legitimate concerns for the speedy re-constitution of the INCHR within the next 60 days, beginning Thursday, July 23, 2009.

They indicated also that the Government recognizes civil society as an integral part of the reconstitution process by involving the Civil Society Organization (CSO) in all deliberations, consultations, among others, as well as requesting that a periodic report of progress on human rights protection be made.

The CSO also used the event to call on the international community and other partners to constructively engage and encourage the Government and civil society actors on the establishment and operation of the Commission.

The two-day stakeholders’ forum which began Wednesday, July 22 and ended Thursday, July 23 was organized by the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) in conjunction with the Transitional Justice Working Group (TJWG) and the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ) brought together other civil society organizations drawn from different sectors of the country.

On day one of the forum, the Country Coordinator of OSIWA Joe Pemagbi, the head of the Catholic-run Justice and Peace Commission (JPC) Cllr. Augustine Toe and Paul James-Allen of the International Center for Transitional Justice explained the purpose of the forum as being meant to establish additional pressure for the constitution of the commissioners and to come out with a clear understanding of the operations of the Commission.

All civil society actors were meanwhile also asked to remain steadfast in its advocacy for the speedy reconstitution and operation of the Commission.

Need To Examine Composition of Commissioners

The final day of the forum saw intense deliberations from various participants as they sought to compile a final communiqué that would be represented to the Liberian Government which some of them believe have been playing delay tactics in the re-constitution of the Commission as evidenced from its failure to approve already vetted commissioners of the Commission.

Thursday’s deliberations were characterized by arguments, suggestions and opinions surrounding the composition of the commissioners that will serve on the INCHR.

In keeping with the Act creating the INCHR, the President is to appoint seven commissioners from the list of names recommended by the Independent Committee of Experts to be subsequently confirmed by the Liberian Senate.

A total of 11 commissioners were vetted and recommended by the Independent Committee of Experts and submitted to the President since January 11, 2007 but President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is yet to do the appointment of the commissioners from the vetted commissioners.

A Gender Sensitive Commission

But during the forum’s final session Thursday in Monrovia, participants raised three issues on the recommended commissioners which they thought needed to form part of the communiqué.

Key among the suggestions relative to the composition of the commissioners was that the structure of the commissioners be gender sensitive. The current list of 11 recommended experts contains only one female in the person of Atty. Esther Seton-Cee.

The three serious points of contentions as raised by participants included: dealing with the present list and making additional appointments to sum up to a total of 15 commissioners, dealing with revisiting the precious vetting process taking gender sensitivity into cognizance and re-opening the entire vetting process without cognizant of the previous listing.

Representatives from the Justice and Peace Commission (JPC), Forum for The Establishment of War Crimes Court in Liberia, Human Rights and Protection Forum (HRPF), Federation of Liberian Youths (FLY) among other representatives from other civil organizations were participants of the ‘Stakeholders’ Forum on the Establishment and Reconstitution of The Independent National Commission on Human Rights’.

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