Liberia: Human Rights

Liberia is a constitutional republic with a bicameral National Assembly. In November 2011 Ellen Johnson Sirleaf of the Unity Party won a second term in multi-party presidential elections, which domestic and international observers considered generally free and fair. Authorities generally maintained effective control over the security forces. Security forces, however, committed human rights abuses. The most serious human rights abuses were those tied to a lack of justice: judicial inefficiency and corruption; lengthy pretrial detention; denial of due process; and harsh prison conditions. Violence against women and children, including rape and domestic violence, and child labor were also serious problems. Other important human rights abuses included police abuse, harassment, and intimidation of detainees and others; arbitrary arrest and detention; official corruption; human trafficking; racial and ethnic discrimination; discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons; unlawful deprivation of life under customary law; mob killings; and ritualistic killings. Impunity remained a serious problem despite intermittent government attempts to prosecute and punish officials.