Features

September 28, 2006

Liberian Truth Commission Reaches Out to Diaspora in the United States

First Truth Commission to Systematically Engage Communities Living Outside of Home Country

WHAT:

Members of the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) will be initiating a campaign to promote the active involvement of the U.S.-based Liberian Diaspora community in the Commission's truth-seeking work. In collaboration with the Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights-and with technical assistance from the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)-Commissioner Massa Washington, head of the TRC's Diaspora Committee, will be conducting two days of training and outreach in Minneapolis, Minnesota this Friday and Saturday, September 29 and 30.

This event is the first in a series engaging some of the largest Liberian populations in the United States and will be followed by similar gatherings in Washington, D.C. and New York City in October. The events will serve to provide detailed information on the Liberian truth-seeking process to members of the Diaspora communities in the United States. In Minnesota, more than 150 pro-bono lawyers and community volunteers are being trained on statement-taking and transitional justice issues to help the TRC gather testimonies and prepare for its public hearings.

This groundbreaking outreach project makes the Liberian TRC the first truth commission in the world to systematically engage and give a voice to Diaspora communities in its proceedings. Given that an estimated 25 percent of the Liberian population fled the country during its 14-year civil war, the Commissioners strongly believe that refugees and repatriated Liberians should be an integral part of the truth-seeking process. While other truth commissions have conducted outreach and educational campaigns with diaspora communities, the level of engagement of U.S.-based communities is truly unprecedented in this case.

WHO, WHEN & WHERE:

Minnesota Event

Friday, September 29, 2006

9:00-12:00 PM--Volunteer Statement-Taker Training Workshop

12:00-1:00 PM--Keynote Address, Update on the TRC Process in Liberia, and Q&A with Commissioner Massa Washington

2200 Wells Fargo Center
90 South Seventh Street
Minneapolis, MN 55402
(Live web cast of the training will be available at: http://salesdemo.mediasite.com/salesdemo/viewer/?peid=d7147cac-c8e5-4cfb-a30a-eb9c6e68f564)

Saturday, September 30, 2006

5:00-7:00 PM--Town Hall Meeting for the Liberian Community

St. Andrew Episcopal Church
1832 James Avenue
Minneapolis, MN

Save the Dates
Saturday, October 7, 2006, 9:00 AM-4:00 PM--Washington, D.C. Community Workshop
Saturday, October 14, 2006, 9:00 AM-4:00 PM--Staten Island, New York City Community Workshop

*Details will be announced.

For more information or to schedule an interview with Massa Washington or with an ICTJ representative, contact: Kasia Reterska, Press Relations Officer, ICTJ, at +1 (917) 637-3847.

To attend the Volunteer Statement-Taker's Outreach and Training Workshop, contact: Jennifer Prestholdt, Minnesota Advocates for Human Right, at + 1 (612) 341-3302 ext 111

General Information is also available at the Liberian TRC website: www.trcofliberia.org

BACKGROUND:

From 1989 to 2003, the Liberian people suffered extreme violence from armed conflict, mass displacement, and severe human rights abuses perpetrated by a wide range of actors during the nation's brutal civil war. On August 18, 2003, a Comprehensive Peace Agreement was adopted in Accra, Ghana, formally ending the prolonged civil strife.

Following a period of transitional governance and extensive national dialogue, on May 12, 2005, the Act to Establish the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) of Liberia was passed by the National Transitional Legislative Assembly and the TRC was tasked with investigating the truth about the human rights violations that had occurred during the nation's civil war. In late 2005, following a widespread consultative process and public nominations, nine national Commissioners and three technical advisory committee members were selected to make up the TRC panel, which officially started its work on June 22, 2006. The TRC has several months to prepare and collect statements from victims and witnesses before it holds public hearings, expected to begin in January 2007.

Since January 2004, the ICTJ has worked closely with the UN Mission in Liberia and the Transitional Justice Working Group, a coalition of national NGOs, to provide extensive advice on the creation and operation of the TRC. ICTJ staff returned to Liberia several times during the first half of 2005 to assist in the finalization of the TRC Act and worked closely with civil society, the UN Mission in Liberia, and government officials to help plan for the Commission's operation. In January 2006, the ICTJ established an office in Monrovia, staffed by two consultants. Since then, it has held frequent meetings with the TRC, local civil society organizations, and government representatives; conducted intensive trainings on the subject of truth commissions; and been actively engaged in the field of security sector reform as part of the transitional justice agenda in Liberia. (For more information, please visit the ICTJ website: www.ictj.org)

Minnesota Advocates for Human Rights is working directly with the Liberian TRC to collect statements from thousands of Liberians refugees in the U.S. in order to give them a role in promoting international justice and human rights as part of the truth and reconciliation process in Liberia. The project will also raise awareness of transitional justice mechanisms and the Liberian process in the United States. More than 150 volunteer statement takers are being trained to begin taking statements in January 2007 and more than 40 Liberian community leaders are involved in the project's Advisory Committee. (For more information, please visit the Minnesota Advocates website: www.mnadvocates.org)