The Independent National Commission on Human Rights (INCHR) says actions by the State to address or curb violations reported are insufficient, half-baked, and most times reactive.
According to the INCHR, most serious human rights violations occur due to the lack of justice, judicial inefficiency and corruption, prolonged pretrial detention, denial of due process and harsh prison condition.
Making the disclosure in its 2021 human rights situation report docketing human rights violations based on domestic and international legal instruments, the INCHR observed that impunity remains a serious challenge despite government’s sporadic attempts to prosecute and correct public officials for wrongdoing, particularly on allegations of corruption.
“State actors in several instances are found wanting when it comes to impartially administering justice, adhering to the rule of law and ensuring equitable dispensation of justice for all,” the INCHR’s report outlined.
The human rights managing arm of government said while government has lapses, it also ensured that citizens enjoyed some of their basic rights as provided for in the Constitution of Liberia and international protocols and conventions and while there were relative freedom of expression and information, movement and assembly, there were also instance of breaches of these rights.
The INCHR’s field-based report cataloged every human rights violation and advising central government on remedial actions gathered in accordance with best practices in human rights monitoring, documentation, investigation and reporting.
The classification did not uncover any State-sanctioned or State-sponsored commission of the breaches or violations however mentioned that there were increased incidences of rape during the reporting period; nonetheless, the LNP did affect arrests, investigated and forwarded more cases to court.
The INCHR expressed that the courts are yet to adjudicate most of these cases to ensure that both the perpetrators and the victims are given the desired justice as well as restoring and protecting human rights and dignity.
Other issues were the poor sanitary condition, inadequate health care, scanty food supply with poor nutrition, inadequate accommodation thus subjecting pretrial detainees and convicts sharing the same facilities, including juvenile been placed in the same cells with adults.
Meanwhile, violence against women and children including rape, domestic violence and child labor were also issues of concern; unlawful deprivation of liberty under customary laws, disappearance and killings, ritualistic killings, police brutality, harassment and intimidating of detainees, arbitrary arrests and detention, corruption, and discrimination against PwDs and mentally impaired persons.