WUNRN
MONROVIA, 21 March 2008 (IRIN) - The
Liberian government has created a special court to deal with not only rising
rape cases, but also other forms of violence against women, Liberia’s
Information Minister Laurence Bropleh told IRIN.
“The government has agreed to set up this court and the
building is being built right now,” he said on 19 March.
During Liberia’s 14 year civil conflict 850,000 people
fled their homes and at least 270,000 were killed. During the war the rape of
girls and women was widespread. Since peace was sealed in 2003, sex crimes -
and impunity for them - have persisted throughout the country.
Although a rape law was enacted in December 2005 which
made rape a crime with a maximum of a life sentence for those found guilty,
rape cases have continued to rise according to rights groups. Half of reported
rape cases are attacks against teenage girls between the ages of 10 to15 years
old according to government statistics.
“Unlike other crimes like murder, theft of property, or
criminal mischief, the regular courts do not regularly deal with rape or sexual
violence cases, either because the complainants are not willing to pursue the
case or state prosecutors are busy handling other cases,” a senior Liberian
judge who requested anonymity told IRIN.
UNMIL Independent Human Rights Expert in Liberia
Charlotte Abaka told reporters on 7 March she is “encouraged” by the creation
of the new dedicated court. “The undue delay in prosecuting such cases will now
be a thing of the past,” she said.
Advocacy effort
Liberia's women rights groups led by the Association of
Female Lawyers of Liberia (AFELL) had been advocating for the setting up of the
special court for two years.
The organisation frequently blamed the
slow progress of rape cases through the existing courts for the lack of
justice for rape victims.
Liberia’s Chief Justice Johnnie Lewis as recently as
October 2006 had rejected
calls for the establishment of the court.
“Having such as court has been a dream of AFELL and it
is now a reality,” said Zeor Bernard, Vice President of AFELL. “We are now
working with the prosecutorial section of the Ministry of Justice to also have
a special unit to prosecute sexual and gender based violence cases,” he said.
The UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Liberia has already
established the Women and Children Protection Section (WCPS) of the national
police dealing with sexual and other abuses against women. Officials there say
rape is the crime most frequently reported to the section.
Encouraged
The United Nations Mission in Liberia’s (UNMIL) latest
human rights situation report released in November 2007 identified the failure
to try cases of gender-based violence as a “challenge to the rule of law and
the protection of fundamental human rights” in post-war Liberia.
“The failure of the state to prosecute impacted
negatively on the rights of women and girls to equal protection afforded by the
law”, the report said.
Liberia’s Gender Based Violence Taskforce head Patricia
Kamara who is also the country’s Assistant Gender Affairs Minister told IRIN
that the new court was a victory for women rights advocates.
“From what we know the criminal courts have been
pre-occupied with cases dealing with other crimes and this new court will
surely bring relief to women,” she said.
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