Published: July 29, 2026
MONROVIA – A coalition of international and Liberian women’s rights organizations has urged the Liberian Senate to strengthen the draft legislation establishing the proposed War and Economic Crimes Court (WECC), calling for broader protections and accountability measures to ensure justice for survivors of sexual and gender-based violence committed during Liberia’s civil wars.
In a formal submission to Sen. Cllr. Augustine S. Chea, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Judiciary, Human Rights, Claims and Petitions, the organizations presented a series of recommendations aimed at making the proposed court more responsive to the experiences of women, girls, and other victims of wartime atrocities.
The communication was jointly endorsed by Global Justice, the Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia (AFELL), and the Women’s NGO Secretariat of Liberia (WONGOSOL).
The organizations said Liberia’s civil conflicts were marked by widespread sexual and gender-based violence perpetrated by all armed factions, with women and girls disproportionately subjected to rape, sexual slavery, forced pregnancies, forced marriages, and other grave abuses.
According to the coalition, the Senate has a critical opportunity to establish a credible, victim-centered, and gender-sensitive justice mechanism as lawmakers consider multiple versions of the WECC bill.
Among the key proposals is the inclusion of reproductive violence and forced marriage as explicit offenses within the court’s jurisdiction. The groups argued that while both crimes are recognized under international criminal law, they remain absent from the current draft legislation.
The organizations also urged lawmakers to recognize the full spectrum of sexual and reproductive violence as war crimes and crimes against humanity, warning that limiting prosecutions to rape and enforced prostitution would fail to reflect the magnitude of abuses committed during the conflicts.
The submission further recommends expanding the category of “other inhumane acts” under crimes against humanity, giving prosecutors greater flexibility to pursue serious offenses not specifically listed in the statute.
To strengthen accountability, the coalition called for revisions to provisions dealing with enforced sterilization and gender-based persecution. It argued that consent should never be considered a valid legal defense where force, coercion, intimidation, or deception was involved.
The groups also proposed adopting a comprehensive definition of “victim” that would extend legal recognition and protection to survivors of conflict-related crimes, children born as a result of wartime sexual violence, and dependents of deceased victims.
Beyond criminal prosecutions, the organizations stressed that victims should be guaranteed meaningful participation in court proceedings and receive prompt, effective, and adequate reparations for the harm they suffered.
The coalition also outlined several institutional reforms designed to strengthen the court’s credibility and effectiveness.
These include ensuring that international judges constitute a majority on judicial panels, requiring judges and court personnel to possess expertise in gender issues, promoting gender-balanced representation across the institution, and reinforcing the Victims and Witnesses Unit with specialists trained to handle sexual and gender-based violence cases.
Additionally, the organizations recommended amendments to the court’s Rules of Procedure and Evidence to provide stronger protections for complainants, victims, witnesses, and persons with disabilities while ensuring compliance with international standards governing the prosecution of sexual violence.
The submission also calls for provisions guaranteeing humane detention conditions for convicted persons, particularly pregnant and breastfeeding women, in accordance with international human rights norms.
Describing the recommendations as a significant contribution to Liberia’s transitional justice process, the coalition requested an opportunity to present its proposals directly to the Senate Judiciary Committee and other relevant legislative bodies before the draft legislation is finalized.
The recommendations come as Liberia intensifies efforts to establish a War and Economic Crimes Court to prosecute those responsible for atrocities committed during the country’s civil wars—a long-standing recommendation of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission that has gained renewed momentum in the Legislature.
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