OWECC-L Faults Memorial Unveiling -Says victims, Survivors Excluded From Mansion Ceremony

MONROVIA – A memorial to Liberia’s 14 years of war has begun with a fresh grievance. The Executive Mansion unveiled its prototype on November 6 without war victims, survivors or persons with disabilities. The Government’s own war crimes court office was also left out. That office, OWECC-L, calls the exclusion unacceptable. Its Executive Director, Dr. Cllr. Jallah A. Barbu, welcomes the memorial but rejects the process. His argument goes to the heart of transitional justice. Liberians who carried the war’s wounds must shape how the nation remembers it. A monument built without them risks memorializing power, not pain. As THE ANALYST reports, the Mansion must now decide whether remembrance is a ceremony or a national conversation.

The Office for the Establishment of War and Economic Crimes Court for Liberia (OWECC-L) has expressed deep concern over the exclusion of key transitional justice stakeholders, including war victims, survivors, and persons with disabilities, from the unveiling of the prototype for a National Memorial.

 In a press release issued in Monrovia on November 10, 2026, OWECC-L called on the Executive Mansion to reconsider its approach to the national memorialization initiative.

OWECC-L, which was created by Executive Order 131 to lead the process to establish a War and Economic Crimes Court and an Anti-Corruption Court, noted that it was also excluded from the unveiling ceremony.

The Memorial prototype was unveiled at the Executive Mansion on Friday, November 6, 2026, as part of an initiative intended to establish a national memorial that would serve as a lasting reminder of Liberia’s 14 years of civil conflict and the devastating consequences of the country’s wars.

OWECC-L Welcomes Memorial Idea

OWECC-L stated that it recognizes and welcomes efforts by the Government of Liberia to establish a national memorial as an important component of the country’s transitional justice process.

The Office believes a national memorial has the potential to become a place of remembrance, reflection, education, healing, and national reconciliation, noting that it can also help future generations understand the consequences of conflict and the importance of protecting peace, justice, human rights, and the rule of law.

However, the Office said the manner in which the prototype was unveiled raises serious concerns about inclusiveness and national ownership of an initiative that is fundamentally about the experiences, suffering, resilience, and aspirations of the Liberian people.

The Executive Director of OWECC-L, Dr. Cllr. Jallah A. Barbu, described the exclusion of OWECC-L and, more importantly, the absence of representatives of war victims, survivors, and persons with disabilities from the unveiling as “a shock and unacceptable.”

Barbu: Memorialization Not Government Project

According to Barbu, while the Executive Mansion has the authority to initiate national programs, memorialization of Liberia’s civil wars cannot be treated solely as a government project. He stressed that the people whose lives were directly affected by the conflict must have a meaningful voice in determining how the nation remembers its past.

Barbu emphasized that memorialization is not simply about constructing a physical structure. Rather, he argued, it is about preserving the truth of what happened, honoring those who lost their lives, recognizing those who survived, acknowledging the suffering of communities, and ensuring that future generations understand the cost of violence.

OWECC-L maintained that a national memorial should be developed through a broad, transparent, and participatory national process that places victims and survivors at the center. The Office noted that Liberia’s conflict affected virtually every segment of society.

According to the Office, thousands of Liberians were killed, displaced, injured, sexually violated, separated from their families, forced into exile, or left with physical and psychological scars. Many communities, it added, continue to carry the consequences of the war decades later.

Persons With Disabilities Must Participate

OWECC-L observed that among those most affected are persons who acquired disabilities as a direct consequence of the conflict, as well as persons with pre-existing disabilities whose vulnerabilities were compounded by war. The Office therefore believes that persons with disabilities should not only be invited to observe the memorialization process, but should be included as active participants in its design, development, implementation, and management.

The Office further stressed that victims and survivors should have the opportunity to contribute their stories, experiences, cultural expressions, and perspectives to the national memorial. It warned that a memorial that does not adequately reflect the voices of those who experienced the conflict risks becoming a monument to the conflict rather than a meaningful national space for truth, remembrance, healing, and reconciliation.

Call For National Consultations

OWECC-L maintained that Liberia needs a national memorial that belongs to the entire country and not to any single institution, administration, political party, or group. The Office is therefore calling on the Executive Mansion to reconsider its current approach and open the national memorialization initiative to broader consultation.

The Office recommended that the Government convene a national consultative process. It also recommended that the Government consider holding consultations across Liberia, particularly in communities that experienced some of the most devastating consequences of the civil wars.

OWECC-L said it recognizes the authority and responsibility of the Government of Liberia to lead national initiatives. However, the Office believes that leadership must be accompanied by openness, consultation, and inclusion.