Hon .J. Narborlor F. Singbeh Sr.
Secretary of the Liberian Senate
REF: Request for Invitation To Make A Presentation At The Senate Public Hearing on War Crimes Court Establishment
Dear Hon. Singbeh:
The mission of universities is to promote research, to promote scientific and artistic education, to promote higher education based on research, and to educate students to serve their country and humanity.
BIZ-LIBERIA Enterprise is a project management social enterprise development and research firm. The firm comprises passionate recent and prospective college graduates from various universities and colleges in Liberia who clustered themselves and identify challenges in communities and society and find sustainable ways to solve them. The firm helps the public and private sectors build new institutions where necessary which protects rights and engender social inclusion among people. The firm recommends a research design that is based on Equity Centered Community Design.
BIZ-LIBERIA Enterprise is pleased to submit the below research brief to you for consideration as we seek an invite to make a presentation in support of but with an element of deference for Liberia, Senate proposed Justice Transition Commission recommendation now under consideration by the Senate Plenary.
This research group believes the Senate must give younger minds the opportunity to participate in the national discourse as we are led to believe that no such university students researchers group have or will be invited. Our views will not represent the views of LINSU as we are not a member of LINSU. We are a project management for-profit firm comprising of passionate university students in Liberia.
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BIZ-Liberia Enterprise certainly covet this invitation.
Best Regards
Sincerely,
Bedell
The presentation
A Presentation to the Liberian Senate in favor of a proposed Justice Transition Commission but with some elements of deference
A new book is like a new gun, until it is tested one will not know its accuracy and precision. A new concept as a proposed Justice Transition Commission which this researcher is led to believe has no precedence in history in any country but the concept must now be embraced only with some elements of deference. Only when this is done, this new concept will be no untried theory.
This research group, BIZ-Liberia Enterprise, which is a project management social enterprise development firm comprising of passionate perspective and recent college graduates from various universities in Liberia likes to recommend to the Plenary of the Liberia Senate the following:
1. That the diction “Proposed Justice Transition Commission” which is under consideration by the Liberia Senate as an advisory recommendation to the Chief Executive be replaced with a more lucid, clear, and applied concept which has precedence from other nations to a Just Trial Transition Commission or a Justice Advocacy Transition Commission
The argument now is why Just Trial Transition Commission or Justice Advocacy Transition Commission. According to the International Council on Human Rights Policy document published in 1999 with the title ” Hard Cases: bringing the human rights violators to justice abroad – A guide to Universal Jurisdiction, the publication – in its introductory statement mentioned that there are ethical, practical, and legal problems that arise in trying to apply the Universal Jurisdiction rule of persecuting alleged human rights violators. Find attached exhibit # 1.
Mind you now, the Universal Jurisdiction rule is an essential tool of the international community in its endeavor to bring war criminals to justice but for this paper which was produced at a meeting in 1999 organized by the International Council on Human Rights Policy in Switzerland, a meeting that brought together legal experts, international NGOs from about 25 countries, to say there are obstacles and hurdles which encapsulates ethical, practical and legal problems in persecuting cases of war crimes, then there is need for investigation.
The President of China Xi Xang Ping said and I quote “history has a way of making us learn wisdom and giving us the power to forge forward “. This research group like to draw some citations from the report mention supra which it will now base her latter reconnections on.
Citation from International Human Rights Policy document report: Hard Cases bringing the human rights violators to justice abroad – A Guide to Universal Jurisdiction. Topic: Why Persecute Using Universal Jurisdiction. Subtopic: To Obtain Justice – paragraphs three and four
“There is clearly a delicate balance between seeking vengeance and desiring suitable punishment; few would dispute that punishment of some sort is a component of justice. Questions arise, however about the motives for seeking punishment and what priority punishment should be given in the aims of the justice system. With regard to motive, the key priority would seem to be that punishment should be driven by a sense of fairness, and a duty to defend the laws and hold violators accountable before the law – rather than a more personal desire to inflict injury. With respect to the justice system, punishment should be one of several aims including rehabilitation.
………. “Most victims consider that persecution of those who have perpetrated crimes against them is necessary for justice to be done. But criminal persecutions are not the only means of achieving satisfaction. Victims or their families may seek compensation or may prefer the official act of compensation, full disclosure of their scope, and an apology rather than persecution.”
“It is therefore sound, therefore to conclude that obtaining victims’ satisfaction is the significant aims of Universal Jurisdiction persecutions”.
Having considered the arguments cited above in support of the fairness, motivation, and desired satisfaction for the use of Universal Jurisdiction in persecuting allege human rights violators, this research group likes to recommend to the Plenary of the Liberia Senate the following sequel which will now answer the questions of when such persecution is appropriate. A sequel for this Liberia context is an event after a great event which is the TRC which is equally important as the event itself.
Sequel # 1. That the Proposed Justice Transition Commission be replaced with a Just Trial Transition Commission or a Justice Advocacy Transition Commission. The diction Justice Transition Commission lacks potency, qualifier, and strategic drivers when it comes to the School of Logic.
CITATION 1: The Scottish government commission a Just Transition Commission to recommend how to maximize the economic and social opportunities of decarburization and to mitigate risk from the transition. The Commission’s final report was due January 2021 but is based on the process of Inclusive dialogue, stakeholders engagement, and how it connected the just transition with broader policy priorities. Find attached citation # 2. Attached at the bottom of this document.
Looking forward to the Liberia scenario – A Just Trail Transition Commission or a Justice Advocacy Transition Commission is recommended to the Plenary of the Liberia Senate and the strategic objectives of the commission shall now but not limited to :
1. To verify the Efficacy of the Liberia Truth and Reconciliation Commission Report. To identify ethical, historical-cultural biases which could influence the recommendations in the report. Find attached research brief calling for verifying the efficacy of the Liberia TRC report. This research brief was compiled a few years ago address to the National Legislature and send to the Public Affairs Department but no consideration was given to the research.
2. To produce a Trial Advocacy Literature or Trial Advocacy Report of all alleged human rights violators in the Liberia civil insurrection – said report must now produce legal persuasive arguments in favor or against alleged human rights violators showing causes of recidivism if the argument is affirmative.
3. Stakeholders engagement of inclusive dialogue by letting the citizens per region access the report and form an indigenous quorum allowing themselves without inducement from any international partner to invite the parties or representatives indicted and let them sit under their own palava hut to identify the best possible means of victims’ satisfaction.
4. This latter process must now be the final recourse that will inform the Senate Plenary about the best advice to recommend to the President about how to maximize the opportunities and mitigate the risk of setting up a war crimes court in Liberia.
Technical Consideration
It is recommended that the Just Trail Transition Commission or Justice Advocacy Transition Commission be void of the following groups in Liberia which have already formed an opinion in favor of war and economic court establishment crimes in Liberia.
1. The Liberia Bar Association
2. Civil Society Organizations in Liberia
3. Women Groups or Women NGOs in Liberia
4. Inter – Religious Council of Liberia
5 The Liberia Media – The Liberia media both print and electronic except for ELBC and community radio in the counties has overly solicited views of campaigners in favor of war crimes court establishment and the media hardly invite pundits on their platform who wants to offer a differing opinion on the subject.
It can be recalled that in early June of this year, the first three bodies signed a bill that was presented to the House of Representatives calling for the establishment of a War and Economic crimes court in Liberia. The Liberia media this researcher is led to believe has aligned themselves with the three above and they have now discussed multiple discourses on their various platforms in favor of a War and Economic Crimes Court in Liberia.
The Just Trail Transition Commission or a Justice Advocacy Transition Commission must therefore involve two separate teams.
1. A legal team – It is advisable that the government of Liberia placed an advert for a Canadian International Arbitration law Firm or write any prestigious school of law for them to send their best recent graduates who will now produce the trial advocacy literature or trial advocacy report of human rights violators in Liberia. Canada is the only country in the world without any cultural social biases when it comes to issuing war crimes. Canada has never formed any opinion whatsoever on the issue of war crimes court in Liberia, this researcher stands to be corrected. The Swedish Embassy near Monrovia recently announced an aid of over 200 million Euros to Liberia but says she supports war crimes court establishment. The Swedish Embassy position could probably be the subtle position of the European Union in Liberia. Canada is the best resource.
2. The second team must now be the local team which will anticipate the report and must be independently vetted from the counties – 4 people per county who will now access the report and be task with stakeholders’ engagement or mandatory inclusive citizens’ dialogue amongst the citizens when they form an indigenous quorum per counties and clan. This team must now be four persons from each county who have not served as an executive to any political party or head any civil society group in Liberia or a member of any women NGO in Liberia.
3. It is also recommended that two African American historical researchers be contracted to review all historical pieces of Literature of Liberia from 1979 to 2003 beginning from the US Department of Congress Library to any such alternative resource cafe in Liberia and also interview key officials who served in both Tolbert, Doe and Taylor’s Administration. Said people to be interviewed could now be Rev. Emmanuel Bowier. The rationale behind this is for the team of African American historical researchers who understands the dramatic interplay of the civil rights movements in the USA and who could be most suited to probe Liberia’s historical past and identify all the historical antecedents which will now point to any ethical and cultural biases which could have blurred the TRC Report. The team must therefore now access the recommendations in the TRC report to see if they align with best practices taking cure from their own civil rights struggle.
3. The following must now be observers to the Commission
The Liberia Council of Churches. This body has vehemently argued that it will never form ANY opinion of war crimes court establishment in Liberia as it supports dialogue.
The Federation of Liberia Youth and LUNSU have never formed any opinion of war crimes court establishment in Liberia, This researcher stands to be corrected.
The Liberia Teachers Association – Both Public and Private School Teachers Association.
Should the Trial Advocacy Report called for the setting up of war and economic crimes court in Liberia, it is therefore recommended that based on questionable international justice promotion invoking Universal Jurisdiction. Find attached citation 4: The case involving Gabriel Masaquoi of Sierra Leone and Civitas Maximas and international Justice Group. Google: Alieu Josiah Rejects. The former chief persecutor of Sierra Leone war crimes court in the person of Allen White flew to Finland to push for the exoneration of the Sierra Leonean rebel general Gabril Masaquoi who had also committed alleged human rights violation both in Sierra Leone and Liberia because he Gabril Massaquoi was given amnesty for testifying against former President Charles Taylor. The question now is who is Allen White to give amnesty to people that committed crimes in Liberia? Should the man called Zeza Maza who testified against former President Charles Taylor in the Hague saying “he ate human beings with Charles Taylor in Taylor’s marine, should such a man benefit from Allen White’s amnesty and not stand trial in Liberia. This is a fail International promotion of war crimes court establishment and this Honorable Senate must rid the Liberia war crimes court proceedings were or to be established from ;
All international bodies that supported and funded the TRC and current International campaigners of war crimes court in Liberia must
A. Never recommend judges for the court;
B. Never take on or sponsor a case in any proceedings.
The Government is therefore advised to designate state persecutors for each county ( it is the responsibility of state persecutors to persecute cases that are heard locally as mentioned in the document cited: Hard Cases: bringing the human rights violators to justice abroad. A guide to Universal Jurisdiction) or the county can find their own International lawyers which the state must now pay on short terms to align with state persecutors per county to persecute alleged human rights violators capture in the Trial Advocacy Report who kindred and representative will remain negligible of the stakeholders’ engagement or citizens inclusive dialogue.
Judges Recruitment Recommendation
It is important that the Government of Liberia build relationships with the Government of Kosovo to consider sending her one judge who has experience in prior matters, one judge from Chile and two judges from Rwanda. Under the module of Equity Centered Community Design, it is recommended that the Government create her own design and experiment with people or parties who have already prototype their fields.
The scope of the proposed Just Trail Transition Commission or Justice Advocacy Transition Commission must now be for one year. Six months for the first team and six months for the stakeholders’ engagement or citizens per county inclusive dialogue.
Citation 2
Scotland’s Just Transition Commission: Guiding a Green Recovery and Seizing the Climate Opportunity Photo credit: georgeclerk/istock Highlights in September 2018, the Government of Scotland established a Just Transition Commission to recommend how to maximize the economic and social opportunities of decarbonization and mitigate risks from the transition. The Commission’s final report is due in January 2021, but based on a process of inclusive dialogue, it has already released several reports, including advice for the COVID-19 pandemic recovery. The Commission’s work to date stands out for its stakeholder engagement and how it connected the just transition with broader policy priorities, from the concept of “fair work” to peat land restoration and reforestation. Looking ahead, however, it is unclear whether the Commission will stay active beyond its initial two-year mandate, or whether there will be sufficient resources to implement its recommendations.
Citation 3 and 4
