Armed men recently broke into the offices of the Global Justice and Research Project, threatening director Hassan Bility and warning that they “knew where he lived,” in what activists say is the latest attempt to intimidate those pursuing accountability for Liberia’s civil‑war atrocities. The attack, along with fresh threats against witnesses and officials working on…
Belgian Court Orders War Crimes Trial for Martina Johnson, a Key Ally of Warlord-Turned President Charles Taylor, After Decade-Long Investigation
By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives Summary: A high court in Belgum ruled on Thursday that Martina Johnson, one of the most powerful women of Charles Taylor’s National Patriotic Front for Liberia, should stand trial for crimes she’s accused of committing during Liberia’s first civil war between 1989 and 1996. The decision by…
Large Numbers Expected for Thursday’s Youth March On the Capitol AgainstRape and Other Forms of Gender Based Violence
Young Liberians are preparing to march on the Capitol on Thursday, demanding real action to stop the rise in rape and gender‑based violence. Despite a national emergency declared in 2020, cases continue to climb, and activists say survivors still face intimidation, delays, and unequal justice. Youth organizers want lawmakers to show concrete results—stronger investigations, fairer…
Bong County Outpaces Nation in Crime Reduction: Community Policing Leads the Way
Fear of rising crime has been on the minds of many Liberians. But the truth is crime in the country is dropping. That’s particularly true in Bong County which has seen one of the largest drops in community crime anywhere in the country.Police records show that in the seven years to 2023, reported crimes fell…
Leading War Crimes Investigator’s Office is Attacked As Threats Against Witnesses and Investigators Escalates
By Anthony Stephens, senior justice correspondent with New Narratives Summary: Armed men broke into the offices of the Global Justice and Research Project last month, targeting Liberia’s leading organization investigating civil war crimes, according to security guards, and alarming activists who say threats against victims, witnesses and investigators are rising. According to Hassan Bility, director…
Large Numbers Expected for Thursday’s Youth March On the Capitol Against Rape and Other Forms of Gender Based Violence
By Joyclyn Wea with New Narratives Summary: Six years ago, former president George Weah won praise for declaring rape a national emergency. He promised a tougher response to sexual and gender-based violence. But little real change was evident, and the numbers kept rising. In 2024, the number of cases of rape, domestic violence, and other…
“Doctors thought I smoked weed”: the women trapped in Ghana’s charcoal trade
Margaret Awuni sits close to a heap of burning wood, her face masked by despair. Thick smoke curls around her as she coughs again and again as the wood burns down to charcoal that she then sells to workers here. Awuni, 48, has been doing this work since she lost her job as a trader…
The Hidden Health Risks Facing Clothing Recyclers in a World Flooded With Plastic Fibers
By Albert Oppong-Ansah Not too long ago, every morning would have found Linda seated next to her friend Ruth Odom, at their small stalls at Accra’s Kantamanto market, in one of the largest secondhand clothing markets in the world. Before them would lie piles of clothes in different colours and sizes – polo shirts,…
The wind brings dust — and death; Experts say northern Ghana’s Meningitis crisis is predictable and preventable
By Mark Kwasi Ahumah Smith Summary Adinboyi Abugre leads a small group of reporters and health workers down a dusty path to his home – past unfinished cement block structures, close-packed houses, and a wide stretch of earth where his family grows food during the rainy season. Inside, Abugre taps his wife on the shoulder….
Breathing death: Health experts warn of looming crisis as toxic air in illegal mining kills and sickens miners
For 15 years, Abass Salifu toiled deep underground at illegal mining sites around Kumasi. The work paid well. He built two houses and provided comfortably for his wife and two children. But in 2025, everything changed. He began coughing uncontrollably. Soon, he was coughing blood. By January this year, Salifu had died. “I wish I…
Ex-President Sirleaf Lashes Lawmakers in Capitol Speech, Calls Low Representation of Women Embarrassing
A former president’s address at the Capitol reignited debate over Liberia’s low number of women in political leadership, highlighting that women hold less than 11 percent of seats in the Legislature despite their historic role in securing peace and democracy. Advocates and women leaders say the problem stems from weak gender‑quota laws, political party practices…
Experts Warn of Health Risk as Hungry People Eat a Dead Whale
A dead baby whale washed ashore at Sheri Beach in Congo Town on February 11, its head tightly entangled in a fishing net, drawing more than a thousand people who quickly cut the carcass apart for food before authorities arrived the next day. The incident exposed major gaps in Liberia’s coastal protection system—weak enforcement of…
Experts Warn of Health Risk as Hungry People Eat a Dead Whale
By Nemenlah Cyrus Harmon, environment correspondent with New Narratives Summary CONGO TOWN, Monrovia-The morning of February 11 started like most mornings at here at Sheri Beach on the shoreline of the capital – the slow crash of Atlantic waves, the smell of salt and diesel. Then someone spotted something enormous at the water’s edge: A baby…
Saudi Rice Shipment Becomes Early Test of Boakai Government’s Anti-Corruption Drive, But Experts Say Delay in Trial is Undermining Trust
In Liberia, a corruption case involving 25,000 bags of donated Saudi riceis from Saudi Arabia is becoming an early test of President JosephBoakai’s promise to crack down on graft. In 2024 thousands of flood victims in rural counties were left with nogovernment help after flood waters washed away homes. Prosecutorssay half the rice was stolen….
Ex-President Sirleaf Lashes Lawmakers in Capitol Speech, Calls Low Representation of Women Embarrassing
By Joyclyn Wea, gender correspondent with New Narratives Summary: • Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Liberia’s former president, said the country should be ashamed that only 11 women serve in the 103-seat Legislature, a fact that is holding back the country’s development and peacebuilding. Advocates welcomed the president’s words, saying the low number reflects an unwillingness for…
Vigilante Mob Levels River Cess Village; Authorities Slow to Respond
In River Cess County, more than 150 women and children are sleeping outdoors after a mob burned homes and food stores in Bethel Town in the latest example of vigilante violence across the country.Six men including the town chief have finally been taken into custody after police took 10 days to arrive in the town.The…
For Women, Subservience Is Still the Expectation — Even When They Win a Nobel Prize
By Tetee Gebro, gender correspondent with New Narratives Summary: Leymah Gbowee, one of Liberia’s two Nobel Peace Prize winners, warned that societal pressure to conform and be subservient is holding Liberia’s women back and robbing the country of the productivity and contributions of half of its citizens. In a candid admission at the latest Feminist Lecture…
As Liberia Debates War Crimes Court, Experts Urge Forced Marriage Be Treated as a Crime
Threats to witnesses in the trials of accused perpetrators in the United States and Europe aregrowing according to justice activists. Seven victims who have testified have been relocated inthe last six months alone.New Narratives’ senior justice correspondent, Anthony Stephens, met one of the witnesses,who says he now fears for his safety after the United States…
As Liberia Debates War Crimes Court, Experts Urge Forced Marriage Be Treated as a Crime
Liberian justice advocates are pushing for stronger protections for victims as the country moves toward establishing a war crimes court. At a recent conference in Monrovia, human rights expert Elise Keppler stressed that crimes like forced marriage and other gender‑based abuses must be fully recognized in the court’s legislation to ensure meaningful justice. She said…
U.N. Begins Training Lawyers Ahead of War Crimes Court’s Establishment
Liberia is taking a major step toward long‑awaited justice as the U.N. Human Rights Office begins training 20 Liberian lawyers on prosecuting war crimes and crimes against humanity. The two‑day program aims to build local capacity ahead of a proposed war and economic crimes court, strengthening legal institutions and preparing lawyers who have never handled…
Defense Lawyers Claim Statute of Limitations Means Rebel Cannot be Tried For 1993 War Crimes
Defense lawyers representing former Liberian rebel commander, Kunti Kamara, are claiming that the statute of limitations means Kamara cannot be tried for 1993 War Crimes. According to them, it has been more than ten years from the time the crimes for which Kamara is accused were committed in Liberia, arguing, that it should be heard…