The undersigned expresses grave concern regarding the United Nations’ engagement with Lewis Brown, an individual named in Liberia’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) report. Mr. Brown has been implicated in significant human rights violations during Liberia’s civil war, and his continued interaction with the UN raises serious questions about the organization’s commitment to justice, accountability, and the well-being of the victims of these heinous crimes.
The TRC report, which is an essential tool for Liberia’s path to recovery, unequivocally calls for the prosecution of individuals responsible for war crimes and human rights violations. The failure to hold such individuals accountable not only undermines the TRC’s critical recommendations but also perpetuates impunity for those who have caused immeasurable suffering. By engaging with Mr. Brown, the United Nations risks compromising its moral and ethical responsibility to protect human rights and promote justice, effectively signaling that those implicated in atrocities can operate with impunity.
Despite the UN’s extended presence in Liberia over the past two decades, many individuals involved in the civil war’s atrocities, including Mr. Brown, have been allowed to maintain positions of power and influence, often through political appointments. This has emboldened perpetrators of gross human rights violations, thus undermining Liberia’s efforts toward genuine reconciliation and justice. It further deepens the mistrust and frustration among victims, whose calls for justice continue to go unanswered.
It is imperative that the United Nations immediately reassess its engagement with individuals implicated in the TRC’s findings. The organization must take decisive action to uphold its commitment to human rights and justice by distancing itself from those named in the TRC’s report and supporting the full implementation of its recommendations. The establishment of a war and economic crimes court for Liberia, as advocated by the TRC, is an essential step toward ensuring that perpetrators of these crimes are held accountable.
The international community, and especially the United Nations, must take a firm and unequivocal stand against impunity. It is the moral and legal obligation of the UN to support efforts to ensure justice for those responsible for the atrocities that devastated Liberia. The undersigned calls on the UN to reconsider its engagement
with Mr. Brown and reaffirm its commitment to justice and accountability for the victims of Liberia’s civil war.
Signed,
Lovetta Tugbeh
Founder, Coalition for Justice in Liberia
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