The House of Representatives has instructed its Judiciary Committee to probe the Independent National Commission on Human Rights (INCHR) on why it has no hearing officer in operation at the Commission.
The House’s decision followed a communication indicting the Act that repealed the Act of 1997, thus creating the Independent National Commission on Human Rights of Liberia (INCHR) in 2005.
The INCHR was created to ensure the realization of Human Rights and enhance Peace and National Reconciliation through the implementation of the recommendations by the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).
The concerns were drawn to the inability of the INCHR to exercise its functions as established to ensure and enhance Human Rights, thus labeling it toothless and depriving millions of Liberians the opportunity of getting redress for human rights violations, because of the closure of the Hearing Office within the Department of Complaints, Investigation and Monitoring (DCIM).
“As we are aware, this transitory Commission, whose mandate is to protect and promote human rights throughout Liberia and to advise the government on issues of human rights, including but not limited to also ensuring that legislation reflects the human rights-based approach, the INCHR has been closed to hearing complaints or giving redress to victims of human rights violations across our society, hence leaving trained staff without jobs and the Hearing Office being non-functional/inactive,” the communication noted.
