Liberia’s history is marked by a 14-year civil war that spilled over into neighbouring Sierra Leone and directly affected approximately 85 percent of the Liberian population though forced displacement, torture, killings and other violations of human rights. In 2003, the parties to the conflict signed a Comprehensive Peace Agreement that mandated, amongst other processes, the creation of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC). The Liberian TRC released its final report in June 2009. (Read more about the commission.)

While this is unrelated to specific violations committed in Liberia, the former president of Liberia, Charles Taylor, has been indicted by the Special Court for Sierra Leone on 11 counts of war crimes, crimes against humanity, terrorising civilian populations and other violations of international law. (Read more about the Charles Taylor trial.)

In 2009, a United States court sentenced Taylor’s son, Charles McArthur Emmanuel, to 97 years in prison for torture and war crimes perpetrated in Liberia. In 2010, Emmanuel was ordered to pay US$22.4 million in damages to five Liberians who were tortured and abused by a unit under his command during the civil war. (Read more about these cases.)