Gongloe Admonishes Liberia’s Ruling Class -‘Don’t be Associated with Inexplicable Deaths Again,” he Says  

MONROVIA: Longtime human rights lawyer Tiawan Saye Gongloe has warned Liberia’s ruling elite never again to make the country associate with inexplicable deaths, pointing to the mysterious deaths of Harry Greaves or public auditors, nor with the forced return of persecuted individuals to their countries, as occurred when a Sierra Leonean police chief was deported under the CDC government or the Guinean under the UP government this year.

Making remarks as chair of panel at a one-day stakeholders’ forum on the need for the ratification of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights for Ratification held on July 16, 2025 in Monrovia, the former presidential candidate in the 2023 elections said “We should not accept very strange official claims such as a presidential security officer Melvin Early committed suicide by shooting himself three times CDC government under the, or that a soldier of the Armed Forces of Liberia, Sgt. Merdeh, committed suicide by shooting himself six times under UP government.

Such narratives, he said, undermine “our moral authority and tarnish the promise of asylum on which this nation was founded”.

He said the ratification of the Protocol will empower Liberians by granting all victims of human rights abuse direct access to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights.

For Liberia, Gongloe said, the Protocol promises improved protection of civil and political rights; greater accountability for abuses; enhanced investor confidence through adherence to international standards; and strengthened mechanisms to combat discrimination, torture, and arbitrary detention.

“Today’s dialogue brings together government, civil society, traditional leaders, academia, and the private sector to develop actionable recommendations for our legislators to be persuaded to ratify this very important continental human rights protocol,” he noted. “If you do not remember anything that I have said here today, please remember that Liberia was meant to be a human rights paradise. We must make it happen. It is a collective responsibility, and the time to begin is now!”

The former Bar Association president narrated that Liberia, a country founded as an asylum from oppression and other forms of injustice, now stands at a defining moment in its human rights journey.

“Liberia should have become a human rights paradise,” said the human rights lawyer and former Labor Minister. “It is a historic failure that we must do everything to correct. We are gathered here today to brainstorm on an important task that we expect the Legislature to perform in our effort to strengthen the protection of human rights in Liberia.”

According to him, President Boakai has formally submitted the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights for ratification.

“Today’s one‑day National Stakeholders Dialogue which is being held under the theme, ‘The Influence of Human Rights Courts on the Protection of Human Rights at Domestic Level’—aims to galvanize support and clarify why this step is indispensable,” he said.

Originating at the 1979 Monrovia summit of the Organization of African Unity(OAU), now the African Union (AU) and adopted in Banjul, The Gambia in 1981, the Banjul Accord, otherwise known as the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights represents a collective African commitment to safeguard fundamental freedoms and dignity.It came into force in 1986.

Under the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights, there are two main implementing mechanisms, the African Commission based in Banjul and the African Court based in Arusha, Tanzania. Liberia’s history is rooted in desire to protect human rights.

“Hence, we must not delay, as country in signing and ratifying any human rights instrument. We need to change Liberia’s story on human rights,” he warned.