Journalism

Expert Warns of Security Risks if Legislature Fails to Approve War Crimes Court Before U.N. Security Council Presidency

By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives  Summary Aaron Weah, the leading historian and transitional justice expert, has warned of security risks if the country fails to approve legislation establishing a War and Economic Crimes Court before it assumes the rotating presidency of the United Nations Security Council in December. Despite years of advocacy,…

Anthony Stephens
Frontpage Africa

Expert Warns of Security Risks if Legislature Fails to Approve War Crimes Court Before U.N. Security Council Presidency

As Liberia moves closer to taking on a leadership role at the United Nations Security Council, experts are warning that delays in establishing a War and Economic Crimes Court could pose risks to the country’s stability and international credibility. Advocates argue that addressing unresolved civil war-era abuses is essential for justice, accountability, and lasting peace,…

Anthony Stephens
Video

How a Gbarnga Tailor Built a School That Trains Hundreds and Offers a Model for Small Businesses in Rural Areas

By Nukanah Kollie with New Narratives Summary:  GBARNGA, Bong County —A bright blue two-story building stands in central Gbarnga, overlooking Broad Street. Red railings surround the balcony, where freshly sewn school uniforms hang beneath a sign reading, “ACD Vocational Training, School Uniform Production, Literacy Program.” Inside, shelves hold colorful fabrics as sewing machines hum across the…

Nukanah Kollie
Frontpage Africa

‘Jaw Dropping’ El Niño” Could Test Liberia’s Weak Weather Warning System and Put Thousands of Lives at Risk, Experts Warn

A powerful El Niño weather pattern could expose serious gaps in Liberia’s ability to warn and protect communities from extreme weather, according to experts. With flooding, stronger storms, and other climate-related threats expected, thousands of people could be at risk if early warning systems fail to reach vulnerable communities in time. The warning highlights the…

Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon
Video

‘Jaw Dropping’ El Niño” Could Test Liberia’s Weak Weather Warning System and Put Thousands of Lives at Risk, Experts Warn

By Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon, climate and environment reporter with New Narratives Summary The sea off Liberia turns a deceptive shade of calm every year around this time as the rains give way to the dry season – warm, glassy, inviting. But Nathaniel Blama, Liberia’s former chief environmental regulator, has learned to read that as a…

Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon
Frontpage Africa

Experts Raise an Alarm as Aid Cuts and Price Rises Lead to Tripling of Babies Suffering Acute Malnutrition

In Liberia, health experts are sounding the alarm as childhood acute malnutrition has nearly tripled, driven by aid cuts, rising food prices, and growing poverty. Families in rural communities are struggling to feed their children, while clinics report shortages of lifesaving nutritional treatments that once helped keep vulnerable babies alive. Officials warn that without urgent…

Nemenlah Cyrusw Harmon
Video

Families live with hidden risks from lead as battery recycling pollutes the air

In Ghana’s Ashaiman scrapyard, families are unknowingly facing serious health risks from lead pollution linked to informal battery recycling. Parents work and children spend time near sites where old batteries are broken open, releasing toxic lead dust and fumes into the air, soil, and food. Health experts warn that lead exposure can cause anemia, hearing…

Jennifer Ambolley
Video

Experts Raise an Alarm as Aid Cuts and Price Rise Lead to Acute Childhood Malnutrition Tripling as More Babies Die

By Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon, climate and environment reporter with New Narratives Summary GBAA-GAYE TOWN, Grand Bassa County – Eight-month-old Helen does not play the way babies usually do. She lies against her mother’s chest, as they sit under a palaver hut in this remote village surrounded by forest and accessible by one hand-cut road. Helen’s legs are…

Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon
Frontpage Africa

Swedish Ambassador Pledges Continued Support for Post-War Justice, Sexual and Reproductive Rights Among Other Priorities After Embassy Closure

By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives  Summary: Sweden’s ambassador to Liberia has used an exclusive interview with Frontpage Africa/New Narratives marking the end of the country’s sixteen years of direct bilateral support since the end of the war, to reaffirm his government’s commitment to Liberia’s post war justice and accountability process.   Ambassador…

Anthony Stephens
Frontpage Africa

Swedish Ambassador Pledges Continued Support for Post-War Justice, Sexual and Reproductive Rights Among Other Priorities After Embassy Closure

Despite closing its embassy and ending direct bilateral development assistance to Liberia, Sweden says it remains committed to supporting the country’s post-war justice, human rights and sexual and reproductive health priorities through the United Nations, European Union and other multilateral programs. Swedish Ambassador Karl Backéus urged progress toward establishing a War and Economic Crimes Court,…

Anthony Stephens
Video

A Coalition of African Civil Society Groups Demands Control of Development Money. But Can They Afford to Say No to Donors?

African civil society leaders are calling for a major shift in how development money is managed, arguing that African organizations and communities should have greater power to decide their own priorities rather than simply follow donor agendas. At a gathering of more than 200 civil society leaders, funders and policymakers in Accra, participants pushed for…

Tetee Gebro
Video

A Coalition of African Civil Society Groups Demands Control of Development Money. But Can They Afford to Say No to Donors?

By Tetee Gebro, gender and health correspondent with New Narratives Summary ACCRA, Ghana — When a donor offered money to an organization working in Kenya, it came with an opportunity to expand its work into more communities. For a small organization that needed funding, it might have seemed like an easy decision. It wasn’t. The donor wanted the…

Tetee Gebro
Frontpage Africa

Saudi Rice Trial Goes to Court, But Victims Say They Still Want the Help They Were Promised

By Joyclyn Wea, gender correspondent with New Narratives Summary INTERNATIONAL TIMBER INDUSTRY VILLAGE, River Cess County — When Eric Kollor learned that former government officials were finally on trial over thousands of bags of Saudi-donated rice meant for vulnerable and disaster-affected Liberians, he was surprised. The case had been moving through the courts in Monrovia,…

Joyclyn Wea
Frontpage Africa

War Crimes Court Office Chief Urges Boakai to Recall Lawmakers for Special Session to Pass Court Bill Before U.N. General Assembly This Month

Summary PAYNESVILLE CITY, Montserrado County—Jallah Barbu, executive director of the Office for the Establishment of the War and Economic Crimes Court, has urged President Joseph Boakai to exercise his constitutional power by recalling lawmakers from their annual constituency break to act on legislation establishing the long-promised court. Speaking Saturday at a Paynesville hotel during the 17th…

Anthony Stephens
Frontpage Africa

Proposed War Crimes Court Has Some Surprising Allies: Warlords

Joshua Blahyi, once feared as “General Butt Naked,” confessed to killing thousands during the civil war and now insists that only a war crimes court can free him and his family from the burden of his past. He is joined by other former fighters like Victoria Zeh, who was forced into combat as a teenager…

Gloria Wleh
Video