Liberia: Boakai signs decree for war crimes tribunal

President Joseph Boakai on Thursday signed an executive order to establish a long-awaited war crimes tribunal to provide justice for victims of Liberia’s two civil wars, characterized by widespread massacres, torture, and sexual violence.

Human rights groups have described how girls were subjected to gang rape , while children were recruited to fight, often after witnessing the assassination of their parents. Successive civil wars killed around 250,000 people between 1989 and 2003.

The legislation was passed by the House and Senate, and signed by a majority of lawmakers, some of whom would be prosecuted.

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