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In one of its first moves the Trump administration has frozen all government assistance programs across the world for 90 days. Though much remains unclear, the new administration has indicated most of those programs – funded by USAID and the State Department – will be shuttered. Liberia is not immune.
By Anthony Stephens With New Narratives
The US has been the biggest donor in aid globally, including spending about $US40 billion a year. In 2024, the US provided more than $US100 million in aid to Liberia, more than half of the annual $200m the country receives. Critics say less than 10 percent of that funding actually makes it to local partners but in low-income countries even that amount will be felt.
The US also provides aid to numerous US media and human rights organizations, including Internews, Human Rights Watch and the Center for Justice and Accountability (CJA). The cuts will have deep impacts across the country. Senior USAID staff have been put on leave.
One key area of concern is the war and economics crimes court. CJA is one of the organizations funded to support with technical support. The organization had notified partners that some of its work has been paused. Ms. Tirana Hassan, executive director at Human Rights Watch which has also played a strong role in Liberia’s transitional justice process, described the freezes as “deeply alarming.”
The US has been a big funder of courts in Africa in the last decade and a half, including the Special Court for Sierra Leone, the Special Tribunal that tried former Chadian dictator Hissène Habre in Senegal in 2016 and the Special Criminal Court for the Central African Republic. The Habre trial cost $US10 million. The Central African Court has a budget of between $US 14-15 million, but has struggled to raise funds, including in 2024. Experts estimate initial funding for Liberia’s courts could be $US60 million. The US is expected to contribute a huge chunk of that money.
There’s anxiety about the long-term consequences the decision will have on Liberia’s transitional justice system, as the country seeks justice for the estimated 250,000 people killed during its two civil wars between 1989-2003. Donors have also expressed grave concern about Dr. Barbu’s announcement this month that his office had spent $368,000 since November 1. They want to see accounting for that money before more support is given.
This comes as President Boakai appointed Lewis Brown, recommended for indictment in the court by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission, as Liberia’s UN ambassador.
Some experts say the court may be slipping away.
“I think President Trump’s executive order will have a huge negative impact on Liberia’s envisioned efforts aimed at creating a war crimes court in the short term,” said Hassan Bility, the justice campaigner. “The expected US funding for the court is not only helpful to the court, it’s also very helpful in encouraging other donor countries who expect the US to take the lead in helping a traditional ally, Liberia.”
Mr. Bility said he remains hopeful. “But I do believe that President Trump will eventually ease the suspension when it comes to Liberia’s unique traditional relation with the US.”
In an interview Cllr. Tiawan Gongloe, a veteran Liberian human rights lawyer, echoed Mr. Bility’s sentiment.
“Obviously, it will undermine it in the short term, because people immediate reaction will be, ‘Oh, wow! Without America, we are not going anywhere,’” said Cllr. Gongloe. “It’s something that anyone thinking about transitional justice and other issues in Liberia will find deeply concerning. And I find it deeply concerning. I would like to appeal to President Trump to reconsider his decision, because one of the reasons that he stated in his campaign was, you know, people commit crimes, and they are coming to America. All that we are trying to fight to strengthen the fight against impunity. And his government should rather help programs like transitional justice programs.”
The Office of War and Economic Crimes Courts of Liberia, which has benefited from US technical assistance through CJA, was still analyzing the impact of Trump’s action on Liberia.
“So far, I am not sure what the implications are for Liberia with respect for the war and economic crimes court,” said Dr. Jallah Barbu, executive director of the Office in a phone interview. “At a point, we had information that ‘okay, despite the change in administration, the fact that this has been a bipartisan process in the US government, there could definitely be support,’ that was the thought of a lot of people. So today, I cannot say specifically, what this would mean. It’s possible the US will still continue to support in a way based on the fact that the rule of law is one thing that we hope the world as a whole will support.”
Dr. Barbu said they had not “given up on any support from the United States,” as they “are not just looking for funding in terms of physical cash,” because “technical support is also a part of the support that we seek.”
Dr. Barbu said they had not entirely had their faith in the US alone.
“From the outset, we were not just looking to the United States for support,” said Dr. Barbu.
“We were looking to countries from around the world. We were looking to the United Nations; we were looking to Ecowas and even the AU for support. This is a global concern, though it is Liberian driven. So, the other countries that made commitment, the EU and other African states that we’ve been engaging, we believe will remain with us.”
Cllr. Gongloe echoed Cllr. Barbu’s sentiment.
“European countries have a very strong commitment to promoting justice and accountability, and I strongly believe that countries like Germany, like France, like the Scandinavian countries, even Great Britain will find it useful to help us,” said Cllr. Gongloe. “So, I am appealing to European countries in the short term to step in.”
“Without the US taking the lead, many other prospective donor countries may NOT be as enthusiastic to help,” said Mr. Bility. “Whether the contributions of these EU member states will be sufficient to execute the work is quite another concern. Right now, we’re in a ‘No man’s zone.’”
Liberian lawmakers’ salaries are among the highest in the world. Other public officials, including those in the cabinet, also earn big salaries and wages, despite the prevalence of poverty in the country and the lack of basic social services for ordinary citizens. Advocates have urged the Boakai administration to use the US aid freezes as an “opportunity” to redirect funding to healthcare, education and the courts.
Cllr. Gongloe wants the president to make not “more than $US3,000 a month,” while other officials in the other three branches of the Liberian government should “make less than $3,000 a month, and the benefits will be cut down, scratch, cars and gasoline,” with “the money saved from that type of rigid reduction of salaries of people at the upper level we then then be used for the war and economic crimes court, strengthening our health and agriculture programs.”
“The world is changing. America is changing. In the governance of our country, need to look in and strengthen ourselves from within, and not to always look at budget support and program support as a mean of governing our country. That is a wakeup call.”
Mr. Bility agreed.
“Yes, to support the War and Economic Crimes Court, I believe the salaries of lawmakers, the direct representatives of the people, and presidential appointees, should cut and the expenditure reappropriated to support the Office of the Court,” said Mr. Bility. “This will NOT only be helpful, it will be clearly indicative of the willingness of our lawmakers to support the court. This, when executed, will convince the International community of our lawmakers’ willingness to seek justice for the people they represent. Anything to the contrary will be considered a lip service.”
Dr. Burbu remained upbeat the Boakai administration, which has given only $US313,000 in the 2025 national budget the Office, down from an initial $US500,000 it had allotted to the Office in 2024, would increase funding to the Office. He said he held a meeting with the president “last weekend” in which he “reiterated their commitment” to the process.
“And the president is very clear that Liberia will continue to move this process,” said Dr. Barbu.
“As you do know, the president was clear in his annual message that he established this not as a lip service, but he established this process to come to fruition. We’ve also been having conversations with the government in that direction and we see clearly that the government will land greater support to the process. How that greater support will be determined is something that requires conversations and some background work. But in any case, I must say I have the government’s support. In terms of supporting this process, the government’s commitment is clear.”
As Liberia comes to terms with the Trump administration’s sweeping aid suspension, what appears to be a bigger problem is on the horizon for the country: deportations of the undocumented Liberians. More than 1,500 of them are expected to be deported.
Experts inside the US government say it’s possible Mohammed Jabatah and Laye Sekou Camara, two Liberian warlords who have been convicted of federal immigration fraud charges in the US, could be deported too. Jabateh, alias “Jungle Jabbah” has so far served nearly 7 of his 30-year sentence. Camara, alias “K-1,”who pleaded guilty to his charges recently, is expected to be sentenced in May. Prosecutors and advocates expect nothing less than a 40-year sentence for him. Mr. Turmp on Wednesday signed a bill into law, instructing federal officials to detain unauthorized immigrants arrested in connection with or charged with burglary, theft, larceny, shoplifting, assaulting a police officer, or crimes that result in death or serious bodily injury.
This story is a collaboration with New Narratives as part of the West Africa Justice Reporting Project. Funding was provided by the Swedish embassy in Liberia. The donor had no say in the story’s content.
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