earning a JD degree from Quinnipiac. She holds Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of Liberia (1973). She is a legal drafter with more than a quarter century of experience in the peace building, woman and human Rights Advocacy and a renown Liberian Politician. Commissioner Bull has held many elected and presidential appointed positions, serving in the public and private sectors in Liberia including on several Boards; Red Cross, YMCA, Renaissance Corporation Inc. FORUM, Special Assistant to Mrs. Angie Brooks Randolph 1974,
Law clerk to Supreme Court of Liberia under Associate Justice, George E. Henries, 1978-1979, Country Vice President, International Federation of Female Lawyers, elected National Chairman, Women Wing, True Whig Party of Liberia, January 1980- April 12 1980, Elected Member from Montserrado County to the Constitutional Advisory Assembly of Liberia (1983) (see 1986 Constitution), Member of the Interim National Assembly of Liberia, representing Montserrado County (1984), Member of the Public Procurement Steering Committee to draft the Act Creating the Public Procurement and Concession Commission of Liberia (2004-2005), elected chairman of the Civil Society committee to lobby the national Transitional Legislature for the enactment of An Act to Repeal the 1979 Act Creating the Liberian Commission of Human Rights and to Create the Independent National Committee on Human Rights of Liberia, to ensure said act was printed into Handbill (2005), Vice Chairman, Independent Committee of Expert for the selection of commissioners for the Independent National Human Rights Commission of Liberia (Dec. 2005), Acting National Chairman Women Wing Unity Party of Liberia, 2005, Coordinator for the Movement for the Promotion of Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf for President of Liberia (MOPED) (2005-2006), Member of the National Bar Association of Liberia for 27 years, and Association of Female Lawyers where she served on several Committees.
Cllr. Bull also served as President of Tropicana Travel Agency in Liberia until 1996 when she had to leave Liberia as a result of the 1996 Civil Crisis. While in the United States she worked as an Immigration Specialist assisting many Liberians to obtain Temporary Protective Status, green card, asylum and regularization of their status Cllr. Bull has traveled worldwide to conferences, seminars and spoken to Universities including Duke University, USA “Humanitarian Challenges at home and aboard focus Program,’ At Shaw University, USA , She taught Management and supervision in Law Enforcement Planning and Criminal Evidence.
Commissioner Bull has received several national and International Honors and Recognition including “Who is in the world “ 1987 ed. Philip Jessup Moot Court competition Washington D.C., Female lawyer of the year (Liberia) 2007- 2008, Woman of the Year 2008 (Liberia), Liberia Human Rights chapter (1994), TRC Representative on the 2006 Presidential Commission to Investigate the Nimba Land dispute.
In 2007 the Liberian Senate Invited Counselor Bull as a Constitutional Legal Expert to advise that Honorable body, Widow of former Chief Justice of Liberia, Justice James G. Bull, Commissioner Bull has four children and several adopted children under the ( ADOPT A STUDENT) Humanitarian Program.
Commissioner Ambassador Rev. Gerald Coleman is an electrical engineer and project manager by training. He holds a Master of Science degree in Electrical Engineering and completed post-graduate studies in Engineering Management at Northeastern University, Boston, MA, USA. Rev. Coleman is the spiritual elder and founding national missionary of the Unification Movement of Liberia, where he has worked for more than twenty-five years. In 1996, he was the Government of Liberia's Commissioned Ambassador and Special Envoy to the Far East. During this period, he worked for the peaceful transition of the Liberian National Transitional Government to civilian government by facilitating several peace building, education and cultural exchange programs for Liberian youths. In 2000, Ambassador Coleman, along with several other prominent Liberians, launched the Inter-Religious & International Federation for World Peace of Liberia as a national branch of an international peace-building non-governmental organization (NGO). Ambassador Coleman also assisted the National Transitional Government of Liberia to establish the Liberian TRC.

Commissioner John H.T. Stewart is a Liberian journalist, human rights advocate and activist. He is well known for his acerbic writing and interviewing style and has served as Associate Editor of the New Democrat Weekly and presenter of the Radio Veritas Topical Issues program. He was educated at the University of Liberia and has held numerous professional positions including local consultant for the Media Foundation for West Africa; reporter for Channel Africa; Regional Coordinator for the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission; Information Assistant for the United Nations Population Fund; and National Assistant Field Security Advisor to the United Nations Development Program. Commissioner Stewart’s advocacy efforts have included working with the Citizens of Liberia against Gambling, Citizens of Liberia in Defense of Albert Porte and the Movement for Justice in Africa. An advocate for the past thirty years, he has been imprisoned and tortured for his activism.

Commissioner Sheikh Kafumba Konneh is a Liberian Muslim Authority who has a long record of conflict resolution and peace-building efforts during major civil and military conflicts in Liberia. In addition to his theological (Al-Islamic) achievements, Sheikh Konneh studied secular law through apprenticeship. He held several positions in the civil service, including Justice of the Peace, Associate Stipendiary Magistrate and County Commissioner in Nimba County, his birthplace. He has also served as Secretary-General and Managing Director of the Liberian Muslim Union and as Secretary-General and National Chairman of the National Muslim Council of Liberia.

Bishop Arthur F. Kulah is a well-known Methodist prelate who traveled throughout Liberia during the civil war, spreading hope to the people. He holds many degrees in theology and other disciplines from Cuttington University College, Bong County, Liberia; St. Paul Theology Seminary, Kansas City, MO, United States of America; and Wesley Theological Seminary, Washington, DC, USA. Commissioner Kulah began serving as pastor of the United Methodist Church in Liberia in 1980, and held numerous prominent positions until his retirement in 2000, including Resident Bishop of the Liberia Annual Conference/United Methodist Church. As an educator, administrator and author, Bishop Kulah has served as Dean of the Gbarnga School of Theology, and Dean and Principal of the Theological College and Church Training Center in Freetown, Sierra Leone. He has written several books and articles including Liberia will Rise Again and Theological Education in Liberia: Problems and Opportunities. In June 1990, Bishop Kulah and others organized a sixty thousand-person peace march that initiated the creation of an interfaith committee and helped build a foundation for the 2003 peace process in Liberia. *Bishop Kulah resigned his position on the Liberian TRC in March 2008, to become the Interim Bishop of the United Methodist Church of Nigeria.

2.3. Profile of International Technical Advisors

Dr. Jeremy I. Levitt is the sole member of the International Technical Advisory Committee (ITAC) of the TRC. Article V Section 10 of the TRC Act mandates that ITAC advisors are entitled to the same “full rights and privileges as Commissioners, except that advisors shall not vote during meetings.” The TRC Act requires ITAC advisors to “work directly with Commissioners in the fulfillment of their mandate.” In accordance with Section 10, Professor Levitt was nominated by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights at the beginning of 2008, and appointed by Her Excellency President Johnson-Sirleaf on 31 July 2008.

Professor Levitt is Associate Dean for International Programs and Distinguished Professor of International Law at Florida A&M University College of Law in Orlando, Florida. He is a public international lawyer, political scientist and historian. Prior to joining the legal academy, Dr. Levitt served as Special Assistant to the Managing Director for Global Human and Social Development at The World Bank Group in Washington, D.C., and held a variety of globally oriented positions in the public and private sectors. He served as a Legal Aide to the Constitutional Assembly of the Parliament of the Republic of South Africa during the country’s constitution-making process, and assisted in drafting its 2005 Promotion of National Unity and Reconciliation Act. Professor Levitt earned his bachelor of Arts degree at Arizona State University, his J.D. at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and his Ph.D. in International Studies at the University of Cambridge, St. John’s College.

Dr. Levitt is an internationally recognized scholar and has authored several books and law review articles. He is the author of the widely acclaimed The Evolution of Deadly Conflict in Liberia: From ‘Paternaltarianism’ to State Collapse (Carolina Academic Press, 2005).

Prof. (Mrs.) Henrietta Joy Abena Nyarko Mensa-Bonsu, was a serving member of ITAC. A national and internationally renowned legal academic, Prof. Mensa-Bonsu who was nominated to the International Technical Advisory Committee by Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), is a Professor of the Faculty of Law, University of Ghana and once served as Vice-Dean of the Faculty of Law. She holds a LL.B First Class Honors (University of Ghana); LL.M. (Yale University) and was called to the Ghanaian Bar in 1982. She is the recipient of several academic awards and fellowships including a Fulbright Fellowship. She was elected a Fellow of the Ghana Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2003 and currently serves as the Honorary Secretary of the Academy. Prof. Mensa-Bonsu has served her country in several capacities including membership of the Police Council of Ghana, as the President’s Nominee. She has previous experience of TRC work as a Commissioner of the National Reconciliation Commission of Ghana. She has also undertaken international assignments as a member of the OAU’s Committee of Eminent African Jurists on the Lockerbie Case and the AU’s Committee of Eminent African Jurists on the Hussein Habre Case. She was also a member of the Advisory Panel of the International Bar Association for the drafting of a Code of Professional Conduct for Defense Counsel appearing before the International Criminal Court and was Ghana’s representative on the Intergovernmental Committee of Experts on the Drafting of the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the African Child. Professor Mensa-Bonsu has published widely on Criminal Law, Juvenile Justice, Children’s rights, Family Law, and authored some basic texts in Criminal Law, including The Annotated Criminal Code of Ghana; The Annotated Criminal Procedure Code of Ghana; and The General Part of Criminal law, - A Ghanaian Casebook, vol. I and II. She is a member of Accra Ebony Lions Club and has held various positions of responsibility including Zone Chairman of Zone 161 of the International Association of Lions Clubs. She is married with three daughters and is currently the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General (DRSG) of the United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL).

Dr. Kenneth Agyemang Attafouah, Phd, ITAC Member (Ghana) was also a member of ITAC. A Criminologist, Sociologist and Barrister-at-Law and Solicitor of the Supreme Court of Ghana, Dr. Attafouah was nominated to the TRC by the United Nation’s High Commissioner for Human Rights. He is a former Commissioner of Human Rights in the Province of British Columbia, Canada, where he adjudicated human rights complaints, and a Member of the Canadian Immigration and Refugee Board, where he adjudicated claims to convention refugee status in Canada. He was the Executive Secretary of Ghana’s National Reconciliation Commission. He previously worked as Chief Investigator and Director of Public Education and Anti-Corruption at Ghana’s Commission on Human Rights and Administrative Justice. He is a former Adjunct Professor of Criminology at the prestigious School of Criminology at Simon Fraser University (SFU) in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, from where he earned his Ph.D. in 1994. Dr. Attafuah is also a product of the Ghana School of Law (B.L), the University of Manitoba in Winnipeg, Canada, (M.A., Sociology) and the University of Ghana (B.A. (Hons.), Sociology with Political Science.

Prior to his appointment to the TRC of Liberia, Prof. Cllr. Ken Attafuah was an Associate Professor of Governance and Leadership at the Graduate School of Leadership and Public Management at the Ghana Institute of Management and Public Administration (GIMPA). He is the recipient of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Award for outstanding contributions to race relations in Canada (February 1992), and of the much-coveted Vancouver Multicultural Society’s Distinguished Public Service Award for outstanding contributions to, and dedicated service in, the promotion of human rights education and multiculturalism in British Columbia, Canada (November 1995). Dr. Attafuah’s extensive publications record includes a number of decisions that set precedents in human rights in Canada. He has trained and consulted widely, both locally and internationally, in the fields of human rights, adjudication, investigations, conflict resolution, crime, policing, crime prevention, criminal law reform, justice and the rule of law, gender mainstreaming, leadership and governance, corruption and conflict of interest, corporate/organizational re-engineering, peace and development, inter-group relations management, and advocacy and lobbying. He resigned his TRC portfolio late 2007.

2.4. Secretariat and Specialized Staff

Members of the Report Writing Committee
Jerome J Verdier, Sr., TRC Chairman/Ex-Officio
John H.T. Stewart, Commissioner/Chairperson
Massa A Washington, Commissioner/Member
Gerald B Coleman, Commissioner/Member
Jeremy Levitt, International Technical Advisor/Member
Prof. Ademola Abbass, Consultant/Member
Nathaniel Kwabo, Executive Secretary/Member
Stephen Manley, Program Director/Member
Stephen Garnawah, Acting Inquiry Director/Member
Patrick T. Dexter Johnson, Database Manger
Consultants
Amb. Juli Endee
Ademola Abass
Neil Fishman
Itonde Kakoma
Anu Pillay

Standing Committees:
Jerome J Verdier, TRC Chairman, Ex-Officio Member

Gender Committee Children’s Committee
Massa A Washington, Commissioner/Chair Oumu Syllah, Commissioner/Chair

Media & Outreach Youth Committee
Massa Washington/Chair Dede Dolopei

Economic Crimes Religion, Traditonal & Reconciliation
Gerald Coleman Gerald Coleman & Sheikh K. Konneh
Civil Society Historical Review
John Stewart Pearl Brown Bull

Diaspora Program and Planning
Massa Washington Gerald Coleman

Vulnerable Groups Governance
Gerald Coleman Oumu Syllah

The Secretariat
Nathaniel Kwabo, Executive Secretary
Database Manager
Patrick T. Dexter Johnson

2.5. Commissioners, Specialists, Senior Staff, Structure & Administration

The TRC organizational structure shown below indicates reporting lines that have been adopted in the rules and procedures. The structure provides for nine Commissioners and an ITAC composed of three technical advisors. For operational purposes, there are provisions for a Chairperson, a Vice-Chairperson and a Treasurer. The Executive Secretary heads the Secretariat, which is responsible for the day to day operations of the TRC. The Executive Secretary is assisted by several directors who report to his/her office. The TRC has offices, which are headed by county coordinators, in all fifteen counties.

2.5.1. Commissioners

All Commissioners have equal powers with the Chairperson exercising his/her powers as a “first among equals.” The organic powers of the Commission are contained in the TRC Act. All members of the Commission shall exercise oversight responsibilities for the functioning of the Commission in order to maintain a balanced and comprehensive perspective of TRC operations. Commissioners are not involved in day to day operations of the Commission.

The Chairperson shall be the Chief Representative and official spokesperson for the Commission, or he/she may designate one of the Commissioners to act as a spokesperson on his/her behalf. The Chairperson shall preside over meetings, forums, conferences and hearings. He/she shall undertake all other acts and exercise all authorities in consultation and with the consent of Commissioners. The Chairperson shall be responsible for ensuring that all information pertinent to the affairs of the Commission is properly and timely disseminated to all Commissioners and members of the ITAC. The Commissioners shall meet and elect a Chairperson or Vice-Chairperson to succeed to either office in the event of vacancy by reason of death, incapacitation, resignation, impeachment, and/or removal from his/her position on disciplinary grounds.

The Vice-Chairperson shall assist the Chairperson in the discharge of his/her duties and perform all such functions as the Chairperson may delegate.

The current Vice-Chair is one of four female members of the eight-member Commission. The TRC Act calls for nine Commissioners; however, one resigned and was not replaced.

2.5.2. International Technical Advisory Committee (ITAC)

Article V Section 10 of the TRC Act provides for three ITAC members to be nominated, one by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCHR) and two by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS). Due to a number of constraints, three different ITAC advisors were appointed in 2006, but thereafter resigned. In September 2008, one was again nominated by the UNHCHR and appointed by the President of the Republic of Liberia in July 2008. ITAC advisors provide legal and policy oversight and advice to TRC Commissioners and are accorded all rights and privileges as Commissioners, except the right to vote.


2.5.3. Special Magistrate

Article VIII Section 27 (b) provides for a Special Magistrate vested with the authority to, under the direction of the Commission: a) issue out citations, summons, warrants and commitments; b) conduct quasi-judicial inquiries and hold contempt hearings; and (c) perform all other acts as may from time to time be designated by the Commission. The Special Magistrate shall perform his/her duties in consultation with the TRC Legal Counsel and the Executive Secretary, upholding all standards of due process, impartiality, fairness and justice in consonance with the constitution and laws of Liberia. The Special Magistrate was appointed by Her Excellency President Johnson-Sirleaf in December 2008.

2.5.4. Senior Staff and the Secretariat

Under Article IX Section 34, the Executive Secretary manages the day-to-day operations of the TRC Secretariat. The Secretariat is the administrative and operational arm of the TRC, rendering administrative, professional, technical, clerical and general administrative support services to the Commission. It comprises a core of administrative and functional staff that is under the direction, leadership and supervision of the Executive Secretary. No action of the Chairperson, Vice-Chair, Treasurer, Commissioners or Executive Secretary shall be inconsistent with the decision of the Commission or the TRC Act. These functions were assumed by the current incumbent in March 2008, almost one year after the Commission was inaugurated. In the conduct of duties, he is assisted by the below line officers described in this section.

According to the organogram, there are four line directors who form a part of the Secretariat. The four directors are: (1) the Director of Inquiry; (2) the Director for Outreach and Media; (3) the Director of Programs; and (4) the Director of Administration. These middle-level managers report to the Executive Secretary, who in turn reports to the Commissioners and ITAC through the Chairperson. A Director of Administration was never appointed.

The Director of Inquiry directs twenty-two investigators and researchers. As the Commission winds down its data gathering activities in country and in the Diaspora, a reduced number of these staff continue to provide invaluable services by analyzing the vast data collected through the thematic, actor and institutional hearings conducted in all fifteen counties. They continue to corroborate findings from witnesses or additional discoveries of sites and events in order to authenticate such findings.
The Director of Outreach and Media is assisted by two officers. He/she functions as the spokesperson of the Commission and manages outreach and public relations activities.

The Director of Programs and projects is responsible for managing the database and coding unit, the psycho-social unit, statement-taking, hearings in the fifteen counties, and the administration of all county offices. He/she is assisted by one program officer and a program assistant. The database and coding section has two supervisors, fourteen coders and eleven data clerks. The two supervisors report to the Benetech consultant, who in turn reports to the Executive Director through the program director. During the statement-taking process, one hundred twenty-four local contractors were engaged to collect statements in the fifteen counties. Statement-taking was followed by the individual and thematic hearings in the counties. The Psycho-Social Unit is headed by one coordinator who is assisted by two counselors. During the county hearings, the Commission outsourced the counseling component to a local organization; The Liberian Association of Psychosocial Services, which was closely monitored by the Commission’s three counselors. The Commission was represented at the county level by two staff members: one county coordinator and one county field officer. These offices were especially useful during the county hearings. In September 2008, the Commission decided to close all county offices, thereby making redundant thirty staff members.

The position of the Director of Administration was not filled. Instead, a finance manager was appointed. The Finance Manager manages the financial accounts and controls the budget of the TRC. Reporting to this manager are an accountant and a bookkeeper. Other staff within the TRC administration includes the logistician, the procurement officer and ten drivers, with one serving as the chief driver. A mechanic was also employed on a retainer basis. In the security section, the Commission has maintained a roster of twelve parameter security, running three shifts and nine VIP securities, each assigned to a Commissioner. When the hearings began in January 2008, the national police also assigned nine additional uniform police to the Commission. That number has since been reduced considerably.

2.5.5. Administration

In March 2007, the Commission, after one year of existence, constituted a Secretariat. Prior to that period, all nine Commissioners played roles in running the day to day activities of the TRC. When the Executive Secretary and the Director of Programs came aboard, the International Contact Group on Liberia (ICGL) intervened and requested that the Commission put on hold its activities and develop an acceptable work plan and corresponding budget as well as adopt a standardized and acceptable set of rules and procedures to govern its day-to-day operations. The Commission was also subject to an external audit. The audit was conducted, and the report circulated to member countries of the ICGL.

On 18 July 2007, after almost five months of meetings with the ICGL/TRC working Group, an acceptable budget of approximately US$7 million was adopted, after one year of existence, for the remaining life of the Commission. The Commission undertook a two-month fast-tracking process of outreach activities into the fifteen counties to reawaken awareness and the spirit of the Commission. In July and August 2007, with funding initially sourced from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA), county offices were equipped and outreach activities to disseminate messages in preparation for statement-taking were conducted. Between the months of October and December 2007, statement-taking activities were concluded in all counties and in selected countries in the Diaspora. The Commission announced in December 2007 that individual and thematic hearings in the counties would begin on 8 January 2008 in Montserrado County. Since then, the Commission’s work has continued uninterrupted.

2.5.6. Benetech

TRC commissioned The Benetech Human Rights Program for assistance in developing a data collection and analysis process in order to address key questions about human rights violations and the nature of the conflict in Liberia. For over fifteen years, members of the Benetech Human Rights Program have worked with eight other truth commissions to incorporate information technology and scientific methods to support their truth-seeking mandates. Specifically, Benetech work with the Commission has involved establishing analytical objectives, collecting data, designing and implementing an information management system, conducting statistical analysis, integrating quantitative findings and follow-up support. Benetech advised the TRC on methods for large-scale data collection and quantitative analysis of statements and other data about human rights violations. Benetech provided training and support to help the TRC develop the capacity to undertake the necessary steps to accurately and defensibly represent quantify information about human rights violations documented in Liberia. Benetech worked with the TRC to implement a complex human rights information management system consistent with the specific needs of the TRC and its dynamic process.


2.5.7. TRC Logo: Meaning and Unity Depicted


The features of the Logo are interpreted below:

1. The dove with olive branch signifies peace.

2. The flag in the background represents the sovereignty of Liberia as the source of the TRC Authority.

3. The bundle of 15 sticks signifies the unity and strong bond of the 15 political sub-divisions of Liberia, bound by a common tie- the TRC.

4. The rope is the TRC unending bond which binds all the 15 political subdivisions of Liberia.

5. The Gold colored “TRC” signifies everlasting and unfading luster of the TRC, its process and results – just like Gold.

6. The people holding hands signify that the TRC is people centered and depends on the support of the people of Liberia to succeed. Also, it signifies unity of all Liberians irrespective of differences in color, tribe, gender, creed, age, economic status or political affiliation - just Liberians…One people, one nation.

The TRC Colors are GREEN and GOLD signifying perpetual peace and prosperity throughout the length and breadth of Liberia.


3.0. MANDATE

3.1. TRC Mandate

This chapter will primarily focus on the conceptual, standards and methodological aspects of the TRC’s mandate, while other related components will be addressed in the chapters that follow. It is divided into four major sections including: Mandate, Legal Methodology, Standard of Proof and Legal Architecture, Standards and Crimes.

The mandate of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia (TRC) is expansive and complex. It is charged with the onerous task of promoting national peace, security, unity and reconciliation by, among other things, investigating, identifying the antecedents of, and determining responsibility for “egregious” domestic crimes (EDC), “gross” human rights violations (GHRV) and “serious” humanitarian law violations (SHLV). Article IV Section 4 of the Act to Establish the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC Act) of 12 May 2005, states:

Section 4
a. Investigating gross human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law as well as abuses that occurred, including massacres, sexual violations, murder, extra-judicial killings and economic crimes, such as the exploitation of natural or public resources to perpetuate armed conflicts, during the period January 1979 to 14 October 2003; determining whether these were isolated incidents or part of a systematic pattern; establishing the antecedents, circumstances, factors, and context of such violation and abuses; and determining those responsible for the commission of the violations and abuses and their motives as well as their impact on victims.

Notwithstanding the period specified herein, the Commission may, on an application by any person or group of persons, pursue the objectives set out in this Article IV (Mandate of the Commission) in respect of any other period preceding 1979.

b. Providing a forum that will address issues of impunity, as well as an opportunity for both victims and perpetrators of human rights violations to share their experiences in order to create a clear picture of the past to facilitate genuine healing and reconciliation;

c. Investigating the antecedent of the crisis which gave rise to and impacted on the violent conflict in Liberia;

d. Conducting a critical review of Liberia’s historical past, with the view to establishing and giving recognition to historical truths, in order to address falsehoods and misconceptions of the past, relating to the nation’s socio-economic and political development.

e. Adopting specific mechanisms and procedures to address the experiences of women, children and vulnerable groups, paying particular attention to gender based violations, as well as to the issue of child soldiers, providing opportunities for them to relate their experiences, addressing concerns and recommending measures to be taken for the rehabilitation of victims of human rights violations in the spirit of national reconciliation and healing.

f. Compiling a report that includes a comprehensive account of the activities of the Commission, and its findings.

From this background, the TRC must not only investigate and determine those who are responsible for committing EDC, GHRV and SHLV against Liberians, as well as their motives and impact on victims, but also determine the historical antecedents or causes of violent conflict in the country, conduct an audit of Liberian history to offer historical correctives, develop sustainable mechanisms to address gendered and child-based violence and promote national rehabilitation, reconciliation and healing. The TRC Act has only accorded the TRC two years to effectuate its mandate with the ability to request a one year extension. The Liberian National Legislature granted the TRC a nine month extension in September 2008.

Article VII Section 26 (j) of the TRC Act requires that the Commission make recommendations in four specific areas: Reparations; Legal Institutional and Other Reforms; Continuing Investigations and Inquiries; and Prosecutions. Section 26 (k) also requires the TRC to take any necessary action to gather information and receive evidence to allow it to effectuate its mandate. Further, Article VIII empowers it to “exercise powers generally in any matter, manner and form, and for any purpose to the fulfillment of the objectives expressed in the Act”, without limitation.

Due to its broad mandate, the TRC was immediately confronted with the difficult task of assessing which bodies of IHRL and IHL applied to it—a critical question given that the mandate includes making determinations on those responsible for committing EDC, GHRV and SHLV. The TRC Act broadly defines “Human Rights violations” as: “(1) violations of international human rights standards, including, but not limited, to acts of torture, killing, abduction and severe ill-treatment of any person; (2) violations of international humanitarian law, including, but not limited to crimes against humanity and war crimes.” It further states that “’violations of international humanitarian law’ includes the Geneva Conventions of 12 August 1949 and its Additional Protocols.” Based on the legal mandate of the TRC as enumerated in Section 4(a), the TRC adopted a coherent set of categories of crimes, standards and definitions to guide and inform its work. The process involved determining the applicability of IHRL and IHL on Liberia between January 1979 through 14 October 2003, which was a daunting task due to the large body of treaty law, general international law and customary international law applicable to Africa’s oldest republic (since 1847), not to mention that IHRL and IHL had significantly evolved during this period. In this sense, what may not have been an IHRL or IHL violation in 1979 may have become one through treaty or customary law development by 1999, particularly with the establishment of the various ad hoc criminal international tribunals since the mid-1990s (Yugoslavia, Rwanda and Sierra Leone), and with the adoption of the 1998 Rome Statute establishing the International Criminal Court.

Consequently, the TRC is confronted with the complicated task of developing a legal architecture and set of standards that comport with Liberia’s international commitments and obligations and simultaneously complement its substantive and temporal mandate while providing it with the flexibility to apply law that is digestible to the Liberian pallet and suitable to the Liberian experience.

3.2. Legal Methodology

As an independent body created under and by Liberian law, the TRC must operate in accordance with international law binding on the Republic of Liberia. Despite the fact that the TRC Act provided broad legal guidelines to steer the TRC’s legal mandate to investigate and “determine those responsible for the commission of the violations and abuses,” it did not offer insight into the multifarious existing rules and standards that bind, regulate and define the scope of the TRC’s quasi-adjudicatory function. Consequently, the TRC had to conduct a forensic legal audit of Liberia’s obligations under Liberian penal law, African Union law, ECOWAS law; UN law; general international law, and customary international law to fashion its own legal architecture and standards. This process required canvassing over fifty human rights, humanitarian and other-related treaties, ascertaining the precise status of regional and customary international law norms applicable to Liberia, as well as examining the jurisprudence and practice of the various international and ad hoc criminal tribunals, and truth and reconciliation commissions, respectively. This endeavor was further complicated by the unique temporal mandate of the TRC (from January 1979 to October 2003), which, for example, begins during the Cold War era and continues through the immediate post-Cold War period into the twenty-first century. During this twenty-four year period, regional and international law significantly evolved, requiring nuanced analysis and legalistic filtering. For example, prior to the end of the Cold War, there was no comprehensive international protective regime for children; however, since 1990, the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (1992), Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) (1989), and the Optional Protocol to the CRC on the involvement of children in armed conflict (2004) have been crystallized into hard law; along with complementary customary international law. Consequently, in 1979, despite the contested applicability of IHL to internal armed conflict, governments and non-state actors were not bound to clear standards on the recruitment or enlistment of children in armed conflict and Liberian children had fewer rights under regional and international law than they did in 1999. Not only did the TRC have to account for the evolution of regional and international law but, also the critical distinction between IHRL and IHL. Consequently, the TRC addressed these temporal and substantive dichotomies by employing a sequential analysis for reviewing allegations, for developing broad standards, by only making determinations of responsibility using legal precepts applicable at the time that the alleged crimes occurred, and by drawing a fine line between IHRL- and IHL-based violations.

3.2.1. Distinguishing IHRL from IHL

Although IHRL and IHL are complementary and strive to protect the lives, health and dignity of people, they are distinct. IHL applies in situations of armed conflict, while IHRL applies at all times, in situations of armed conflict and peace. IHRL is generally limited in application to violations committed by a state or its agents against citizens, whereas IHL is applicable to state actors and non-state actors alike. In the search to criminalize violations of IHRL and IHL, a new branch of international penal law referred to as international criminal law (ICL) has emerged. After a review of relevant and prevailing regional and international law and standards, and in accordance with its mandate, the TRC concluded that while in times of public emergency some human rights treaties permit governments to derogate from certain rights, it is never acceptable to derogate from fundamental human rights (e.g. right to life and personal dignity). It also determined that no derogations are permitted under IHL because it was established to regulate emergency situations, and particularly armed conflict; rules governing the conduct of hostilities and Prisoner of War (POW) status are not applicable in non-international armed conflicts; and there is no derogation from ICL in times of public emergency because it exists to protect the fundamental rights of people through penal sanction.

3.2.2. Distinguishing Armed Violence from Armed Conflict

IHL gives little guidance on how to determine when an armed conflict actually begins and, for this reason, when IHL is applicable to non-international armed conflict. This is a critical issue because, as already noted, situations of internal armed violence short of armed conflict only engender IHRL and ICL; whereas, situations of armed conflict are characterized by IHRL, IHL and ICL. With respect to IHL, the Geneva Conventions of 1948 (I-IV) and Protocol II Additional to the Geneva Conventions of 1977 (Protocol II) provide different standards for determining when armed conflict exists and consequently when the conventions apply. According to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) in the Abella case, which is one of few authoritative interpretations identifying when Common Article 3 is