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 Advocates Say President Boakai Made a “Serious Mistake” by Appointing Accused War Profiteer to UN Post

By Anthony Stephens with New Narratives Leading human rights advocates have condemned President Joseph Boakai’s decision to  commission Lewis Brown, a former national security adviser to Charles Taylor, as Liberia’s ambassador to the United Nations. Mr. Brown was recommended for prosecution by the country’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission and could be one of those prosecuted…

UN Special Rapporteur Says “Poverty and Inequality Are Drivers” of Human Trafficking; Calls on Gov. to Fund Protection of Victims and Prosecution of Accused Traffickers

By Anthony Stephens with New Narratives ONE UN HOUSE, Liberia—A United Nations expert has warned that poverty and equality are high among “children, women and girls” in Liberia and “are drivers” of human trafficking. Madam Siobhán Mullally, the UN Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, said the issues were also fueling “sexual exploitation” among children “in rural and hard…

West African Regional Body Approves Special Tribunal in The Gambia Setting Precedent for Liberia’s War and Economics Crimes Court

By New Narratives justice correspondents Yankuba Jallow in The Gambia and Anthony Stephens in Liberia. In a potential precedent for Liberia’s transitional justice process, Ecowas, West Africa’s regional bloc, has finally approved The Gambia’s request to establish a Special Tribunal to try alleged crimes committed during the military dictatorship of Yahya Jammeh whose rule from…

Senate Unanimously Confirms President Boakai’s Controversial UN Pick, But Advocates Dismisses It as “a Serious Threat to Justice”

By Anthony Stephens with New Narratives The Liberian Senate has confirmed Lewis Brown, President Joseph Boakai’s controversial pick for Ambassador to the United Nations, despite opposition from leading voices in the human rights community in the country. Advocates had argued that Mr. Brown, recommended in Liberia’s 2009 Truth and Reconciliation Commision report as one of 26 individuals who should face prosecution…

A Range of Security Challenges Will Face War Crimes Courts But Experts Say Accused Perpetrators Are Not Among Them

By Anthony Stephens, Senior Justice Correspondent with New Narratives Summary: One of the most important issues for designers of Liberia’s war and economic crimes court will be security. Opponents of the court, including Thomas Nimely Yaya, an ex-rebel leader, now a senator of Grand Gedeh County, have long threatened a court would “dismantle” peace, stir up old…

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…