West Africa Justice Reporting Project

Since 2017 New Narratives has supported West African journalists to cover groundbreaking universal jurisdiction cases that have held accused perpetrators of crimes against humanity to account in Europe and North America. This important movement in international justice has allowed justice systems around the world to prosecute those who seek to hide out in their territory and avoid justice at home.

Journalists from Liberia, Gambia and Sierra Leone have travelled to the United States and Europe to cover trials of accused perpetrators for audiences across West Africa. They have also covered the quest for justice, reparation and reconciliation in all its forms, at home.

Hassan Bility, Liberian justice advocate.

“New Narratives, I expect and hope, should keep up the world and the Liberian people informed of developments every step of the way. I believe NN deserves a justice prize. Your journalism gave Liberians hope when no one believed there was a chance.”

Massa Washington, former commissioner with the Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission.

”New Narratives has played a pivotal role in assisting Liberians to understand the importance of establishing a war crimes court and why holding alleged perpetrators accountable is good for Liberia’s stability, peace, security and growth. New Narratives is the “window” through which Liberians and the rest of the world are informed and educated about transitional justice processes concerning Liberia. Since its inception on the Liberian scene, New Narratives has established itself as Liberia’s premiere news outlet and authoritative source for accurate, timely and in-depth reporting and analysis on efforts to address issues of accountability for crimes committed during Liberia’s turbulent 14 years civil conflict and efforts aimed at ending impunity. Through the dedication, commitment and hardwork from project staff, New Narratives is playing a pivotal role in shaping the narrative in transitional justice reporting on Liberia. The consistency and quality of New Narratives’s coverage of events ensures that  Liberians are continuously equipped with appropriate, factual information to assist them understand what is happening which ultimately bolstered their courage to finally commit to establishing the Court.⁠ ⁠Continue to play the role you’re playing.”

The project has been funded by the Wellspring Philanthropic Fund and Australia Aid.


War Crimes Court Office Receives Part of Promised Government Funding as Office Head Prepares for Important Meeting with Ecowas President

By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives The Office of War and Economic Crimes Court of Liberia said Thursday that it had received $US300,000 or 15 percent of President Joseph Boakai’s promised $US2 million for 2025, for its operations. The president pledged the funding in late April when he extended the mandate of the Office…

Liberia Pauses for National Day of Prayer to Honor Dead and Living Victims of the Country’s Civil Wars  

By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives Joseph Boakai, Liberia’s President, offered a special prayer for the nation at a national service Wednesday at the Effort Baptist Church in Paynesville, where Boakai also serves as a deacon. As Liberians with formal employment took advantage of a surprise last minute public holiday, the president…

President Boakai Pledges To Build a National War Memorial and Declares Day of Prayer, Drawing Cautious Praise

By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives President Joseph Boakai announced his government would soon commission a national war memorial to honor the victims of Liberia’s brutal civil wars and the peacekeepers from the Economic Community of West African States who died in the conflicts. The president made the announcement during the official celebration of…

War Crimes Court Office Launches Outreach Campaign Even as Promised Government Funding Fails to Arrive

By Anthony Stephens senior justice correspondent with New Narratives The Office of Liberia’s War and Economics Crimes Court launched its official outreach campaign at an event at the Office’s headquarters in Mamba Point, Monrovia on Saturday, despite having still received none of the $US2 million in funding promised by President Boakai in April. The campaign…

President Boakai Apologizes to Civil War Victims, Pledges National Memorial, and Recommits to Criminal Accountability

By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives President Joseph Boakai has issued an official apology on behalf of the Liberian nation “to every victim of our civil conflict”— ending more than two decades of waiting by victims, survivors and advocates seeking accountability for wartime atrocities. The president apologized on Saturday during a state-sponsored “National…

Rights Groups Praise Reburials of Doe and Tolbert but Urge Inclusive Reconciliation and Support for War Crimes Court Office  

By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives Leading Liberian human rights organizations have praised the government for symbolically reburying Samuel Kanyon Doe and William Richard Tolbert, the country’s two presidents who were separately killed while in office. Doe, who ended more than a century of Americo-Liberian dominance by a military coup in 1980 was…

War Crimes Court Office Submits Roadmap to President Boakai With 2026 Start Date for Economic Crimes Court

By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives The Office of the War and Economic Crimes Court of Liberia has formally submitted a national roadmap for the country’s transitional justice process to President Joseph Boakai, a move experts say is a key step toward long-delayed accountability for war-era atrocities and systemic corruption. Among the…

U.S. Embassy in Liberia Orders Visa Applicants to Make Social Media Profiles Public

The U.S. embassy in Monrovia says the social media accounts of all applicants will be screened and approved before their travel. By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives Summary: The U.S. embassy in Monrovia has “requested” all visa applicants from Liberia to change their social media settings from private to “public to facilitate vetting necessary to…

Nobel Laureate Gbowee Says Hindsight Has Shown Former President Sirleaf’s Government Was a “Diamond” in Comparison with Successors

By Anthony Stephens, senior correspondent with New Narratives Summary In a surprising concession, Leymah Gbowee, Liberia’s internationally renowned peace activist, has said that she has revised her prior criticisms of the government of President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who left office after two six-year terms in 2018. In an exclusive interview with FrontPage Africa, Gbowee, who shared the…

War Crimes Court Office Submits Long Awaited Bills to Justice, Amid Dispute With Civil Society

By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives Summary: The Office of the War and Economic Crimes Court of Liberia on Tuesday submitted its long-awaited draft legislation for a war and economic crimes court and a national anti-corruption court to the country’s justice minister, following weeks of public disagreement with leading civil society groups…

Liberia and Ghana Stand Almost Alone in Region as U.S. Travel Ban Hits Neighbors, Experts Cite Acceptance of U.S. Deportees and Other Strategic Factors

By Anthony Stephens, senior reporter with New Narratives Summary: Liberia’s exclusion from the Trump administration’s latest travel ban has drawn a mix of praise and caution from foreign policy experts, who say it reflects warming relations with Washington as the Trump administration shift its focus from aid to U.S. national interests. The revised policy, announced…

Liberia Included on a List of 36 Countries for Potential US Travel Ban; Foreign Minister Nyanti Says Government Is Engaging The Trump Administration on the Matter

By Anthony Stephens, senior correspondent with New Narratives The administration of U.S. President Donald Trump has included Liberia on a list of 36 countries whose citizens could be banned from traveling to the US according to a draft memo obtained by The Washington Post, a U.S. media outlet. The memo “signed by Secretary of State Marco Rubio…

Liberia Overwhelmingly Wins UN Security Council Seat as Diplomats Say It Shows Country’s “Growing Regional Influence”

By Anthony Stephens, senior correspondent with New Narratives Liberia has overwhelmingly won a non-permanent seat on the United Nations Security Council—64 years after it first held the role. One hundred and eighty-one of the 188 member states of the UN voted for Liberia. The vote marked a historic milestone for the country, coming nearly 22…

U.N. Chief Reaffirms Support for War Crimes Court Office; Urges Civil Society to Unite as Internal Rift Goes Public

Summary: By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives Christine N. Umutoni, the United Nations resident coordinator in Liberia, reaffirmed the U.N.’s support for the Office of the War and Economic Crimes Court of Liberia at an event in Monrovia marking International Human Rights Day, as a dispute between the Office and a bloc of…

War Crimes Court Office Gets Promised Government Funding as Director And Activists Engage in Public War of Words

Summary: By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives The Office of the War and Economic Crimes Court of Liberia, the body tasked with establishing a war and economic crimes court and a National Anti-Corruption Court, has dismissed a newly submitted civil society bill to establish a war and economics crimes court as “mischief”…

“A Quiet Earthquake”: In Major Blow, Sweden Plans Exit as Largest Remaining Bilateral Donor

By Anthony Stephens, senior correspondent with New Narratives Summary: Sweden, long Liberia’s most reliable and generous development partner, announced on Friday that it will end bilateral aid to Liberia and close its embassy in Monrovia by August bringing an abrupt end to decades of deep cooperation. In a statement on Facebook, the embassy described the decision it…

Civil Society Groups Submit New War Crimes Bill As Advocates Scramble To Kill Earlier Version That Would Exclude War Crimes

Summary: By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives In a surprise move, a coalition of advocates led by the Independent National Commission on Human Rights on Tuesday submitted a new war crimes court bill to the Legislature. It came as campaigners intensified efforts to block an earlier version that would exclude so-called “international” crimes including war crimes and crimes against humanity from…