VZCZCXRO6179
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHMV #0864/01 1991608
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 181608Z JUL 07
FM AMEMBASSY MONROVIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8943
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MONROVIA 000864 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
AF/W FOR PCARTER, JBUELOW, PDAVIS, INR/AA FOR BGRAVES, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM EAID LI
SUBJECT: LIBERIA: TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION 
LIMPING ALONG 
 
REF: A. MONROVIA 000462 
     ¶B. 06 MONROVIA 001637 
     ¶C. 06 MONROVIA 001439 
 
1.(SBU) SUMMARY: One year into its mandate, the Liberian 
Truth and Reconciliation Commission has yet to get off the 
ground, hampered by poor leadership, staffing problems, and a 
loss of donor confidence.  The International Contact Group 
for Liberia has invested considerable energy to try and get 
it back on track.  Significant progress has been made, the 
GOL has committed to funding, and Embassy believes the TRC 
should now be supported financially by the donors as well. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
---------- 
Background 
---------- 
 
2.(U) The Accra Comprehensive Peace Agreement (ACPA) that 
ended the Liberian Civil War in 2003 provided for the 
establishment of a Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) 
to "provide a forum that will address issues of impunity, as 
well as an opportunity for both the victim and the 
perpetrators of human rights violations to share their 
experiences, in order to get a clear picture of the past to 
facilitate genuine healing and reconciliation".  Having 
gotten off to a false start under the transitional 
government, the TRC was reconstituted by the Johnson Sirleaf 
administration in March 2006.  Given a mandate of 27 months 
to complete its work the TRC has in effect wasted a year. 
After an initial preparatory period and the beginning of 
statement taking from victims of the conflict, the process 
came to a halt in January.  A loss of donor confidence in the 
management and financial responsibility of the TRC means that 
most funding has dried up.  The local representatives of the 
International Contact Group for Liberia, as guardians of the 
ACPA, expressed a number of concerns about the TRC's 
management of its work.  In particular: 
 
-gaps in staffing of the TRC Secretariat 
 
-strategic leadership by the Commissioners 
 
-public awareness of the TRC process and its mandate 
 
-extent of TRC engagement with civil society 
 
-due process and transparency in hiring TRC staff and 
awarding of contracts 
 
-the role of the International Technical Advisors 
 
-TRC rules and procedures 
 
-transparency of TRC finances 
 
------------- 
Working Group 
------------- 
 
3.(SBU) A Joint Working Group of the ICGL and the TRC was 
established in March 2007 to address the problems.  Over the 
course of more than four months - during which work to 
fulfill the mandate of the TRC has been suspended - this 
group has reviewed all aspects of the TRC's management and 
working practices.  It has: 
 
-drawn up a revised work program and budget, prioritizing 
activities and reducing the predicted total cost of the TRC 
by more than 50%. 
 
-worked with the International Center for Transitional 
Justice to produce more consistent public messages 
 
-drawn up a strategy for mass public engagement 
 
-facilitated agreement with civil society organizations on 
their support to the TRC 
 
-worked on a plan to provide security to protect the TRC's 
personnel and to provide witness protection 
 
-developed and implemented a training program for all TRC 
staff 
 
-gained the Commissioner's agreement to implement the 
recommendations of a USAID-funded financial audit that was 
completed in June 
 
 
MONROVIA 00000864  002 OF 003 
 
 
-revised the rules and procedures to improve financial 
controls and accountability 
 
-reviewed the personnel policy and staffing structure of the 
Commission 
 
4.(SBU) The working group process has been largely led by the 
UN, UK and US.  In addition to wanting the TRC process to 
succeed on its own merit, members have been concerned that 
the ICGL would be blamed for the failure of the process. 
This effort is designed to counter the extensive media 
campaign by anonymous Commissioners to blame lack of donor 
support for the TRC's failings.  Other donors, in particular 
the EC, have been more skeptical as to whether the TRC under 
its current leadership can really produce results and has 
been reluctant to give the TRC credibility by engaging in the 
process, let alone funding it, despite the modifications 
achieved by the working group. 
 
----------------------------- 
Continuing Fundamental Issues 
----------------------------- 
 
5.(SBU) The TRC has a broad mandate for its limited lifespan. 
 It is asked to provide a comprehensive narrative of the 
events surrounding the conflict going back to the Doe coup in 
1980, to account for its causes, to provide a platform and 
recommend restitution for the victims, identify the 
perpetrators of human rights violations, and make 
recommendations on prosecution or amnesty.  It has no 
substantive powers to enforce cooperation. (FYI: Most people 
not connected to the TRC have no idea what it has done and is 
supposed to do.  Outside of Monrovia awareness is almost 
negligible. END FYI).  The nine Commissioners have differing 
views about priorities within the broad mandate.  They are in 
danger of spreading resources too thinly, and addressing none 
of their tasks adequately.  Personal relations between the 9 
Commissioners remain strained and the quality of leadership 
is poor.  Unlike South Africa, there is no unifying figure 
such as Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Commissioners have 
discredited themselves by appearing more concerned with their 
salary, perks, and privileges than with their mandate.  Many 
victims are fearful of giving testimony as those responsible 
remain at large, many in positions of power.  Ex-combatants 
are reluctant to participate, fearful of incriminating 
themselves before the TRC without any clarity on whether they 
can expect amnesty or not. 
 
6.(SBU) A joint ICGL-TRC meeting is scheduled for July 19 to 
discuss the results of the Working Group and the TRC's plan 
for the remainder of its mandate.  The TRC has delivered its 
revised rules and procedures, work plan, budget and mass 
awareness campaign to the ICGL members on July 17.  The TRC 
hopes to get donor support for its programs. 
 
7.(SBU) COMMENT: The GOL appears ambivalent about the TRC's 
work.  The President has spoken of her support for the 
Commission, (she inaugurated it with great fanfare in July 
2006) and has ensured that the government meets its 
obligation to pay staff salaries.  She recently met with the 
TRC Commissioners in private to reassure them of her support. 
 However, the GOL feels its position sufficiently precarious 
that it wishes to take some time in confronting some of the 
leading figures from the civil war who remain in positions of 
influence, particularly in the legislature.  A weak TRC is a 
convenient means of parking the issue. 
 
8.(SBU) COMMENT: The process of reconciliation needs to be 
broader than anything that the TRC will be able to do in the 
14 months left in its mandate (11 months for data collection 
and 3 months for report writing).  It will require 
fundamental changes to provide genuine equality in access to 
power and economic opportunity, real progress on eradicating 
corruption and more humility by the educated elite.  These 
are each essential steps toward building a shared Liberian 
identity.  More important, the failure of the TRC, if seen as 
a consequence of neglect or lack of funding by the 
international community, would set the process of 
reconciliation back considerably and provide external 
scapegoats on which to pin responsibility for domestic 
political dysfunction.  It would also increase domestic and 
international pressure for a war crimes tribunal, something 
very likely to be politically destabilizing. 
 
9.(SBU) COMMENT: Bottom Line: With the improvements secured 
through the Working Group, we believe the TRC has a fighting 
chance to achieve its fundamental objective of highlighting 
root causes of the conflict in Liberia and identifying at 
least some of the perpetrators of gross abuses of human 
 
MONROVIA 00000864  003 OF 003 
 
 
rights.  We are therefore prepared to commit the $500,000 of 
FY06 ESF that has been earmarked for the TRC.  Other donors, 
with the probable exception of the EC, also appear prepared 
to resume funding of TRC activities. END COMMENT. 
Booth