ICTJ in the News

July 31, 2007

Press Release: Survey Finds Liberians Aware of Truth Commission, but not its Powers

BBC World Service Trust

Eight out of ten adults in Liberia are aware of the country's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), but less than half are aware of its powers to recommend amnesties, prosecutions, and reparations, according to a survey conducted for the BBC World Service Trust.

The household survey, carried out in June 2007 with Search for Common Ground, explores levels of knowledge and attitudes surrounding transitional justice issues in the wake of the civil conflict that ended in 2003. The survey is based on a random sample of 1,600 adults (18-59 year olds) in eight diverse counties in Liberia.

Levels of knowledge are strongly influenced by education, the survey found. Only 51% of respondents with no formal education said they were aware of the TRC. Twenty-seven percent of people surveyed had elementary education or less.

The survey found that 71% of those aware of the TRC would feel "secure" giving a statement to the TRC, but that less than half of those aware (47%) rate the performance of the TRC to date as good or excellent.

With the TRC being a non-judicial process, the survey also asked about judicial options. Forty-six percent of respondents said they think that people involved in major wrongdoings during the conflict -- such as murder, rape, and the use of child soldiers -- should be prosecuted. Asked whether, if trials take place, this should happen during or after the TRC process, 43% said during, 26% said after, and the rest said they did not know.

Whilst 94% of respondents are aware that former Liberian president Charles Taylor is on trial, 1 in 5 are not aware that the trial is conducted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone.

The survey also found that 67% of people are aware of reforms to the security forces in Liberia, with over 66% saying they think that the new Liberian army will be able to provide security for Liberians once the UN has left the country.

According to the survey, radio is by far the most popular and also the most trusted source of information about what is happening in Liberia, and as a source of information on the TRC. Eighty-two percent of those aware of the TRC say they learned about it through the radio, and 74% of respondents who access information through radio say they have complete trust in this information.

The next most popular source of information is other people in the community (62%), but this source has the complete trust of only 30% of people. Only 1 in 5 people (20%) report getting information through newspapers, and only about half of these (52%) say they trust this information source completely.

A full report from the survey will be available later in 2007 on the Trust's website, www.bbcworldservicetrust.org.

The survey is part of "Communicating Justice," a joint, two-year project of the BBC World Service Trust and the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ). The project aims to raise levels of public awareness and debate around transitional justice issues in five post-conflict African countries: Liberia, Sierra Leone, Uganda, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Burundi.
Communicating Justice is a project co-financed by the European Union, the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Humanity United.

For more details about this story and the Trust's projects globally, log on to the website:
www.bbcworldservicetrust.org

Note to Editors:

The BBC World Service Trust is the BBC's independent international charity. It works with people in developing and transitional countries to improve the quality of their lives through the innovative use of media.

For further information:

Julia Crawford, Project Director, Communicating Justice
Telephone in Liberia (until August 20): 06 910 180
Email: julia.crawford@bbc.co.uk

Gary Mundy, Research Manager, BBC World Service Trust
Tel: + 44 207 557 0662
Email: gary.mundy@bbc.co.uk

Pareena Khairdin, Communications Officer, BBC World Service Trust: Tel +44 (0) 207 557 0507; email pareena.khairdin@bbc.co.uk.