STAND Welcomes US Human Rights Report -Declares Report a moral Indictment on “Rescue Agenda”

MONROVIA – The Solidarity & Trust for a New Day (STAND), who in collaboration with the WE THE PEOPLE Movement organized the July 17, 2025 “Enough is Enough” protest, has welcomed the U.S. State Department’s 2024 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Liberia, which confirms persistent human rights abuses, entrenched corruption, and systemic violations of fundamental freedoms.

According to STAND, in a blistering press statement issued on August 16, 2025, the latest report delivers a damning verdict on Liberia’s worsening human rights crisis, bluntly concluding that no significant progress has been made during President Joseph Boakai’s first year in office.

“This is not merely a policy failure—but a moral indictment of the so-called “Rescue Agenda,” exposing its emptiness and the administration’s inability—or unwillingness—to break Liberia’s entrenched culture of impunity.

“For instance, as prices soar and hospitals collapse, President Boakai is squandering taxpayer dollars on a 23-to-40-person entourage to Japan. The same man who once condemned wasteful foreign travel now indulges in it with reckless appetite. Liberians suffer under rising prices, unemployment, and a failing healthcare system, yet millions are wasted on a foreign junket that delivers nothing—no jobs, no trade, no meaningful investment,” STAND said.

STAND further corroborated the accuracy of the U.S. State Department’s assessment, indicating: “There has been no significant change. Boakai’s actions prove Liberia remains trapped in the same destructive cycle of waste, arrogance, and contempt for its people”.

Returning to the report’s findings, STAND said, while the broader security apparatus bears responsibility for abuses, the spotlight falls sharply on the Gregory Coleman-led Liberia National Police, documenting violations so severe they cannot be ignored.

“This is not mere criticism, but a call to urgent action. These findings reinforce STAND’s core demand: the immediate dismissal of the current Inspector General of Police to restore credibility, integrity, and public trust in the LNP.

“STAND and its partners have distilled the essence of the U.S. report into one undeniable truth: under Boakai’s leadership, impunity thrives, abuses persist, and ordinary Liberians remain unprotected.

“The report exposes a nation gripped by extrajudicial killings, arbitrary arrests, prolonged detentions without trial, a silenced-threatened, intimidated & censored press, torture, inhumane treatment, rampant gender-based violence, female genital mutilation, and systemic discrimination. At its core is a deeply corrupt government machinery that emboldens lawlessness and strips ordinary Liberians of justice and dignity,” the rights group said.

The Group further indicated that the abuses outlined in the US State Department 2024 Human Rights Report on Liberia violate Articles 6 and 7 of the ICCPR, Articles 4, 5, 6, and 9 of the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, and Articles 11, 15, and 20 of the Liberian Constitution, all of which guarantee life, liberty, due process, freedom of expression, and human dignity.

“Such violations are not only unlawful—they are an attack on the principles of justice, democracy, and humanity.  Alarming allegations from senior officials of the Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency (LDEA) and the Independent National Commission on Human Rights (INCHR) reveal direct involvement of government officials in the drug trade. This hypocrisy—by some of those (officials) who paraded in recent anti-drug campaigns—demands an urgent, transparent, internationally monitored investigation, fully compliant with Liberia’s obligations under the U.N. Convention Against Corruption and ECOWAS protocols,” STAND noted sternly in its reaction to the US State Department Report.

Government Reacts

Meanwhile, the US State Department Report on Liberia has elicited a myriad of public reaction, most notably from the Government of Liberia which says it is studying the report to adequately respond to its content.

According to an August 13, 2025 Executive Mansion press release, the government of President Joseph Boakai, Sr., acknowledged receiving the 2024 U.S. State Department Human Rights Report on Liberia which it is currently reviewing.

President Boakai in the Ministry of State statement expressed his administration’s commitment to upholding the Constitution of Liberia and ensuring the protection and promotion of human rights for all citizens and residents, regardless of background or status.

“Human rights are not merely legal obligations – they are fundamental pillars of dignity, justice, and democratic governance. This Report will guide us in identifying both our achievements and areas that require immediate attention,” President Boakai is quoted to have said.