Liberia

Making love a crime: Criminalization of same-sex conduct in Sub-Saharan Africa

Published by on June 25, 2013

Amnesty International 25 June 2013 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report provides an analysis of the legal environment and wider context of human rights violations against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex (LGBTI) individuals in sub-Saharan Africa. Recent years have seen increasing reports of people being harassed, marginalized, discriminated against and attacked because of their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity. This is occurring in countries whose legal systems still condone the criminalization of consensual same-sex behaviour, and in countries where the police and justice systems are failing to prevent these crimes from happening. The continued criminalization of consensual same-sex Read the full article…

Liberia: Freedom in the World 2013

Published by on May 24, 2013

Freedom House 24 May 2013 President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf began her second term facing continuing insecurity in neighboring Côte d’Ivoire, fears of an influx of repatriated Liberian refugees, and ongoing land disputes. Initially accused of dragging its feet in prosecuting mercenaries, the administration apprehended 10 suspects implicated in high profile cross-border attacks in June 2012. In August, 46 government officials, including the president’s son, were suspended following corruption charges. Former warlord-turned-president Charles Taylor was convicted in April on 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in neighboring Sierra Leone. Read the full report here.

Liberia: Amnesty International Annual Report 2013

Published by on May 23, 2013

Amnesty International 23 May 2013 The justice system continued to be inefficient. Access to prisons was restricted and discrimination continued against women and LGBTI people. Forty-one people were extradited to Côte d’Ivoire without due process. Read the full report here.

Forced Migration Review No. 43 - States of fragility

Published by on May 1, 2013

Refugees Studies Centre May 2013 State fragility poses a challenge to the refugee regime. Rather than just placing the emphasis on the need to protect people fleeing the acts of states against their own populations, it also demands the protection of people fleeing the omissions of states, whether due to states’ unwillingness or to their inability to provide for their citizens’ fundamental rights. Read full report here.  

Liberia: ICRC Annual Report 2012

Published by on May 1, 2013

International Committee of the Red Cross May 2013 In 2012, the situation in Liberia was by and large peaceful, with a low level of political violence. Porous borders, however, facilitated occasional cross-border activity by weapon bearers, including violent incidents along the border with Côte d’Ivoire during the second half of the year, leading to increased tensions. Consequently, the security forces and UN peacekeeping missions in both countries strengthened cooperation. Although well over half of the refugees from Côte d’Ivoire (see Abidjan) had gone home by mid-year, these incidents slowed down their return; thus, an estimated 65,000 refugees remained in camps and with host families along the border areas in eastern Read the full article…

Liberia: 2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

Published by on April 19, 2013

US Department of State 19 April 2013 Liberia is a constitutional republic with a bicameral National Assembly. In November 2011 Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of the Unity Party won a second term in multiparty presidential elections, which domestic and international observers considered generally free and fair. Security forces reported to civilian authorities. The most serious human rights abuses were those tied to a lack of justice: judicial inefficiency and corruption, lengthy pretrial detention, denial of due process, and harsh prison conditions. Violence against women and children, including rape and domestic violence, and child labor were also serious problems. Other important human Read the full article…