Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07MONROVIA623
2007-05-24 17:11:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Monrovia
Cable title:  

LIBERIA: TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION MOVES

Tags:  PGOV PREL PHUM EAID LI 
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VZCZCXRO5827
RR RUEHPA
DE RUEHMV #0623/01 1441711
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 241711Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY MONROVIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8639
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1406
C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MONROVIA 000623 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

AF/W PCARTER, JBUELOW, PDAVIS, INR/AA BGRAVES, AF/RSA
MHARPOLE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/17/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM EAID LI
SUBJECT: LIBERIA: TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION MOVES
FORWARD SLOWLY

REF: A. 06 MONROVIA 1294


B. 06 MONROVIA 1146

C. MONROVIA 294

D. MONROVIA 1637

Classified By: Political Officer Silvia Eiriz for reasons 1.4 (b) and (
d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 MONROVIA 000623

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

AF/W PCARTER, JBUELOW, PDAVIS, INR/AA BGRAVES, AF/RSA
MHARPOLE

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/17/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM EAID LI
SUBJECT: LIBERIA: TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION COMMISSION MOVES
FORWARD SLOWLY

REF: A. 06 MONROVIA 1294


B. 06 MONROVIA 1146

C. MONROVIA 294

D. MONROVIA 1637

Classified By: Political Officer Silvia Eiriz for reasons 1.4 (b) and (
d)


1. (C) Summary. Over the past two months, the Liberian Truth
and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) has been working with the
international community to put policies and practices in
place that will instill donor confidence and permit
resumption of funding of the TRC's activities. Many strides
have been made towards instituting policies and creating a
comprehensive work plan and budget, but the TRC still suffers
from management problems and personality conflicts that are
proving difficult to resolve. The Chairman of the TRC told
Poloff that he would quit the Commission if he could. Some
other commissioners are not cooperative with international
community efforts to assist or advise the TRC. Commissioners
continue to make public statements accusing the international
community of failing to support the Commission while refusing
to acknowledge their own shortcomings. An European
Commission (EC) technical advisor seconded to the TRC to
assist with management issues is often marginalized by
Commissioners and they have not fully accepted
recommendations included in a lengthy report she prepared on
the Commission. The TRC Chairman stalled the commencement of
mutually agreed upon financial audit, creating some
bureaucratic reasons for holding up the work.
Notwithstanding problematic Commissioners, the TRC
secretariat, headed by a recently arrived Executive Secretary

SIPDIS
and a competent and dedicated Program Manager, pushes forward
with a work plan and budget. The new budget of approximately
5 million USD for 18 months is much more realistic than the
original projected amount of 12 million USD for a two year
project. Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary
General (D/SRSG) Jordan Ryan, instructed the UN Development
Programme (UNDP) to fund the 2-month emergency budget with

the assistance of the Open Society Institute for West Africa
(OSIWA). Embassy is deciding on a disbursement mechanism for
USAID funds available for use by the TRC. Benetech,
contracted by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor (DRL),is assisting the TRC with database management
and coding human rights incidents. End Summary.


2. (SBU) In February 2007, the international community
through the International Contact Group on Liberia (ICGL)
recommended that the TRC engage with the ICGL in a combined
working group, with the ICGL serving in an advisory capacity.
The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) and TRC jointly chair the
working group and ECOWAS acts as the secretariat. Working
group meetings started in March and have been taking place
once a week since then. The working group has formed several
sub-committees to address specific issues. The first
sub-committee reviewed the TRC's rules and procedures, making
a recommendation to the Commissioners on changes that should
be made. The second sub-committee on programs and budget
continues to meet to discuss elements of the emergency plan
as well as larger issues of a comprehensive 18 month work
plan and budget that can be presented to donors. A third
sub-committee was formed to address issues of staffing and
salaries.


3. (C) Not all Commissioners are in favor of change. Through
working group meetings it has become clear that some of the
Commissioners are unwilling to address problems of
overstaffing or other mismanagement of financial or human
resources. Commissioners continue to insist that they each
need a personal secretary and personal security officers.
They were initially resistant to pooling their vehicles, but
have now agreed on a modified vehicle pooling policy. (FYI.
The TRC only has 10 vehicles, but 9 are assigned to
Commissioners, leaving one for general use. End FYI.)
Commissioners refuse to make cuts in their own salaries, but
are willing to cut staff salaries to address budgetary
realities. The GOL provides funds for salaries for TRC staff
and Commissioners. Commissioners earn approximately 3,200
USD per month after taxes. The TRC Chairman claims that
Commissioners do not receive any other benefits in the form
of fuel allowances or vehicle maintenance costs. (FYI. If
the proposed national budget is passed by the legislature,
the average civil servant will earn 50 USD per month. End
FYI.) The Commissioners cite both the TRC Act and other
regional commissions when justifying salary expenditures.
The Act states that Commissioners should be paid at the level
of Supreme Court Justices. (FYI. Commissioners on the Sierra
Leone Truth Commission were paid 8,000 USD per month. END

MONROVIA 00000623 002 OF 002


FYI.)


4. (C) While Commissioners appear resistant to outside
intervention, the newly hired Executive Secretary of the TRC
secretariat, Nathaniel Kwabo and the Program Director, Steven

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Manly are reaching out to the international community for
assistance. They have requested more training programs for
staff from UNMIL and the Glencree Center for Peace and
Reconciliation. They have requested and received assistance
from the International Center for Transitional Justice (ICTJ)
on devising policies guidelines, a work plan, and a budget.
They are discussing security issues with UNMIL and the
Ministry of Justice. Manly is putting together a
comprehensive work plan and budget that will be presented to
the TRC-ICGL working group for comment. (FYI. Both Kwabo and
Manly are Liberians returned from the diaspora. Kwabo is the
former director of the Liberia Democracy Watch, the same
organization that current TRC Chairman Jerome Verdier was
heading before becoming a Commissioner. Kwabo is reportedly
quite close to Verdier even though he was chosen, according
to Verdier, through a transparent process. END FYI.)


5. (C) The working group agreed on a financial audit to
account for money spent to date and to help the TRC improve
accountability. The USAID Office of Transition Initiatives
(OTI) agreed to fund a financial audit through a Ghanaian
firm chosen by Liberia OTI partner Development Alternatives,
Inc (DAI). OTI/DAI informed the TRC one week in advance of
the auditors' arrival and provided the TRC with the final
version of the scope of work. When the auditors arrived on
May 21, they were only given a small room to work in and were
instructed by the TRC Chairman (through the Executive
Secretary) not to start any work until the Commission

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received a letter of engagement from the auditing firm. The
Executive Secretary claimed not to have a copy of the scope
of work and said that there was some concern that the
auditors were not Liberians and that the Commission was not
consulted when choosing the auditing firm. On May 23, DAI
country director informed the Executive Secretary that if the
auditors did not begin work that day, they would depart the
country that afternoon. The auditors were subsequently
allowed to commence a financial review of the TRC. A
management review of the Commission has also been suggested,
but Commissioners believe it would duplicate the work of the
EC in-house technical advisor (even though they have not
accepted the results of the EC technical advisor's 45-page
report on management practices and other policies). The
Ambassador has suggested that OTI consider funding a
management audit when the EC technical advisor finishes her
assignment to verify if improvements have been made.


6. (C) Comment. The Commissioners continue to play the same
games that have stalled the process to date. The TRC was
given ample opportunity to comment on the scope of work and
request input into the selection process. They were also
informed in advance that the auditors were arriving and could
have requested a letter of engagement earlier. Without a
financial audit, it will be difficult for the Commission to
continue soliciting international support. Despite
Commissioners' resistance to changes or oversight, the
Commission, with the assistance of the working group, has
made strides towards recommencing its activities. UNDP and
OSIWA will fund a 2-month emergency plan to reinvigorate the
process through a massive public awareness campaign. The
Program Director and his staff are well on the way to a
formalized, comprehensive, and reasonable work plan and
budget which encompasses all TRC activities until September
2008 and which will encourage more donor funding. The French
government recently gave UNDP USD 250,000 for women's
participation in the TRC. If remaining USG assistance is
disbursed, total support to the TRC will be close to 1
million USD by the end of the process. End Comment.
Mazel