By Precious D. Freeman
Renowned human rights lawyer and Executive Director of the Independent National Human Rights Commission of Liberia (INHRC), Atty. UriasTeh Pour, has called on the Government of Liberia, through President Joseph Boakai and the Ministry of Justice, to fully implement the commission’s 2024 Annual Situation Report.
The report, he emphasized, is crucial for strengthening Liberia’s democratic governance and reinforcing its international human rights credentials.
Released on December 10, 2024, the report is in fulfillment of Article 4/16 of the Act establishing the INCHR.
It mandates the commission to provide quarterly and annual assessments of the country’s human rights situation—including internal conflict, crimes against humanity, war crimes, discrimination against minority groups (particularly the LGBTQ+ community), and more.
The executive summary of the 2024 report, which covers the period from January to December 2024, highlights severe human rights concerns.
These include a lack of access to justice, judicial inefficiency, widespread corruption, prolonged pretrial detention, denial of due process, and harsh prison conditions.
Speaking in an exclusive, Atty. Pour revealed that the report had been submitted to all three branches of government, including the Office of the President, with the expectation that it will inform urgent policy actions.
According to Atty. Pour, “The report is not intended to name and shame the government. Rather, it is an honest reflection of the human rights situation aimed at improving Liberia’s governance and encouraging both domestic accountability and foreign investment.
“This is our own report crafted by Liberians for Liberians. We shouldn’t always wait for the U.S. State Department to tell us about our own issues.”
He stressed the importance of implementing the findings of the report, arguing that ignoring them could discourage international partners and investors, particularly if concerns about judicial inefficiency and systemic corruption persist.
Commenting on the Judiciary, Atty. Pour highlighted troubling observations made by INHRC monitors. In several counties, courts exist in name only, as they often lack magistrates and prosecutors to hear and dispose of cases.
Court sessions are often delayed due to the tardiness or absence of judicial actors, worsened by poor infrastructure and road conditions.
He also recounted disturbing anecdotes, including one instance where a child molestation case was stalled because police officers requested fuel from the victim’s family to proceed with an investigation.
“That’s a clear judicial breakdown,” he said, “because the justice process begins with the police.”
To address these persistent challenges, Atty. Pour proposed empowering and deploying more paralegal practitioners to remote counties, where legal literacy remains low.
These paralegals, he said, could support legal education and improve the understanding of judicial processes among locals.
He also called for enhanced training for the Liberia National Police, particularly in the use of force and professional standards investigation.
According to him, the credibility of police investigations is fundamental to ensuring justice.
“In one county, I saw a magistrate conducting court under a tree, with an American flag behind him and a Bible on the table—no law books in sight. That is symbolic of the deterioration of the rule of law in some places. In these conditions, it is no surprise that many people are turning back to traditional justice or palava hut mechanisms to resolve disputes,” Atty. Pour lamented.
He concluded by emphasizing that judicial corruption must be tackled at all levels, including the manipulation of court dockets and delays caused by administrative negligence.
He commended the Supreme Court for previously acknowledging some of these issues but urged for more decisive action.
With Liberia at a crossroads, Atty. Pour stressed that the Boakai-led administration must lead the charge in implementing reforms highlighted in the report.
“We need political will. We need President Boakai to take this report seriously. Our credibility as a democratic state and our people’s trust in the justice system depend on it,” he asserted.
The ball, he noted, is now in the court of the executive, and the nation awaits meaningful action that signals a break from the past and a firm commitment to justice, human rights, and democratic governance.
