1.0.
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia (TRC) was established at the end of the peace conference in Accra, Ghana when the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) was signed by all parties to the conflict including the international community as guarantors, in August 2003. This was for Liberia, its first period of calm and relative peace following 14 years of civil war and violent armed conflict. Under the CPA sitting President Charles Taylor stepped down and departed Liberia into exile paving way for a two year Liberia National Transitional Government (LNTG) headed by Chairman Gyude Bryant. In June 2005, the National Transitional Legislative Assembly enacted the TRC Act into law. National Elections were held in November 2005 and President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was elected, sealing a long period of conflict and creating the space for national reckoning. The elected President inaugurated the nine-member Commission in February 2006 and the Commission was launched to commence its operations on June 22, 2006. Since its launching in June 2006, the Commission, for the last three years, worked tirelessly to fulfill its mandate in the face of mounting administrative, operational, financial and human resource challenges. This occasioned a slow start of the Commission’s work in the first year till July 2007 when activities of the Commission resumed uninterrupted to present. Pursuant to its mandate, the Commission conducted public awareness campaigns, collected thousands of witness testimonies and held public hearings in all 15 counties of Liberia as well as in the Diaspora. 1.1
Mandate of the TRC
The mandate of the TRC, principally contained in Art IV, Section 4 of the TRC Act, is to foster truth, justice and reconciliation by identifying the root causes of the conflict, and determining those who are responsible for committing domestic and international crimes against the Liberian people as follows: 1.
Document and investigate the massive wave of human rights violations that occurred in Liberia during the period January 1979 – October 2003;
2.
Establish the root causes of the conflict and create a forum to address issues of impunity;
3.
Identify victims and perpetrators of the conflict;
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