(Monrovia, May 15, 2025): The Ducor Institute and the Office for the War and Economic Crimes Court-Liberia (OWECC-L) Thursday, May 15, 2025 agreed to collaborate in efforts aimed at increasing public confidence in OWECC-L.
Through a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed in the Office of the War and Economic Crimes Court (OWECC), both entities formalized a partnership agreement that seeks to “undertake joint fundraising and resource sharing, hold regular policy dialogue to increase public confidence in the OWECC-L and to ensure continuous update of the database” on sites of massacres. On 9th May, Ducor Institute released a database on sites of massacres in Liberia spanning 14 April 1979 to October 2003. According to Dr. Weah, “the database has been assessed to provide the most comprehensive dataset on sites of massacres across temporalities.”
On behalf of OWECC-L, the MoU which was signed by Dr. Jallah Barbu, Executive Director and Dr. Aaron Weah, Ducor Institute. The formal signing ceremony took place in OWECC-L’s conference room. Dr. Barbu indicated that “OWECC-Liberia-Ducor Institute partnership will generate evidence-based research that would serve as a foundation to the establishment of the actual court.”
The signing of the MoU occurs in the anniversary month of OWECC-L. President Joseph Boakai’s renewal of the Executive Order on April 30, 2025, has given new impetus to the campaign for civil-war era accountability.
This is truly promising, and I look forward to what the partnership can achieve in bringing long-awaited justice and closure to victimized families across the country. Truly proud of Dr. Weah for what he’s accomplished in a really short time for the Institute.