The Future of Democracy and Governance in Liberia Hearing
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THE FUTURE OF DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE IN LIBERIA HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA, GLOBAL HEALTH, GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS, AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS OF THE COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED FIFTEENTH CONGRESS FIRST SESSION SEPTEMBER 13, 2017 Serial No. 115–63 Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.foreignaffairs.house.gov/ or http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/ U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 26–837PDF WASHINGTON : 2017 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate 0ct 09 2002 11:23 Oct 05, 2017 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 F:\WORK\_AGH\091317\26837 SHIRL COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS EDWARD R. ROYCE, California, Chairman CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida BRAD SHERMAN, California DANA ROHRABACHER, California GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York STEVE CHABOT, Ohio ALBIO SIRES, New Jersey JOE WILSON, South Carolina GERALD E. CONNOLLY, Virginia MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas THEODORE E. DEUTCH, Florida TED POE, Texas KAREN BASS, California DARRELL E. ISSA, California WILLIAM R. KEATING, Massachusetts TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania DAVID N. CICILLINE, Rhode Island JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina AMI BERA, California MO BROOKS, Alabama LOIS FRANKEL, Florida PAUL COOK, California TULSI GABBARD, Hawaii SCOTT PERRY, Pennsylvania JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas RON DESANTIS, Florida ROBIN L. KELLY, Illinois MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina BRENDAN F. BOYLE, Pennsylvania TED S. YOHO, Florida DINA TITUS, Nevada ADAM KINZINGER, Illinois NORMA J. TORRES, California LEE M. ZELDIN, New York BRADLEY SCOTT SCHNEIDER, Illinois DANIEL M. DONOVAN, JR., New York THOMAS R. SUOZZI, New York F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JR., ADRIANO ESPAILLAT, New York Wisconsin TED LIEU, California ANN WAGNER, Missouri BRIAN J. MAST, Florida FRANCIS ROONEY, Florida BRIAN K. FITZPATRICK, Pennsylvania THOMAS A. GARRETT, JR., Virginia AMY PORTER, Chief of Staff THOMAS SHEEHY, Staff Director JASON STEINBAUM, Democratic Staff Director SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA, GLOBAL HEALTH, GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS, AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey, Chairman MARK MEADOWS, North Carolina KAREN BASS, California DANIEL M. DONOVAN, JR., New York AMI BERA, California F. JAMES SENSENBRENNER, JR., JOAQUIN CASTRO, Texas Wisconsin THOMAS R. SUOZZI, New York THOMAS A. GARRETT, JR., Virginia (II) VerDate 0ct 09 2002 11:23 Oct 05, 2017 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 F:\WORK\_AGH\091317\26837 SHIRL C O N T E N T S Page WITNESSES The Honorable Donald Yamamoto, Acting Assistant Secretary, Bureau of African Affairs, U.S. Department of State ......................................................... 5 Ms. Cheryl Anderson, Acting Assistant Administrator, Bureau for Africa, U.S. Agency for International Development ...................................................... 14 Mr. Dave Peterson, senior director, Africa Programs?, National Endowment for Democracy ....................................................................................................... 28 Ms. Aurelia Curtis, founder and executive director, Weeks Educational and Social Advocacy Project ....................................................................................... 35 Mr. Rushdi Nackerdien, regional director for Africa, International Foundation for Electoral Systems ........................................................................................... 45 Christopher Fomunyoh, Ph.D., senior associate and regional director for Cen- tral and West Africa, National Democratic Institute ........................................ 59 LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING The Honorable Donald Yamamoto: Prepared statement ...................................... 7 Ms. Cheryl Anderson: Prepared statement ........................................................... 16 Mr. Dave Peterson: Prepared statement ............................................................... 32 Ms. Aurelia Curtis: Prepared statement ............................................................... 39 Mr. Rushdi Nackerdien: Prepared statement ....................................................... 48 Christopher Fomunyoh, Ph.D.: Prepared statement ............................................ 61 APPENDIX Hearing notice .......................................................................................................... 74 Hearing minutes ...................................................................................................... 75 (III) VerDate 0ct 09 2002 11:23 Oct 05, 2017 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 F:\WORK\_AGH\091317\26837 SHIRL VerDate 0ct 09 2002 11:23 Oct 05, 2017 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 5904 Sfmt 5904 F:\WORK\_AGH\091317\26837 SHIRL THE FUTURE OF DEMOCRACY AND GOVERNANCE IN LIBERIA WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, 2017 HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON AFRICA, GLOBAL HEALTH, GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS, AND INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATIONS, COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 2:00 p.m., in room 2172 Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Christopher H. Smith (chairman of the subcommittee) presiding. Mr. SMITH. The subcommittee will come to order, and good after- noon to everyone. On the eve of the Liberian election, I want especially thank Con- gressman Dan Donovan for recommending this important hearing for our subcommittee before those elections and also to speak to the future of democracy and governance in Liberia. As we all know, of the more than 50 nations in Africa, the United States has the closest connection with the Republic of Libe- ria. This is not only because Liberia was founded in 1847 by freed men and former slaves from this country, but also because of the estimated 500,000 Liberians and Liberian descendants who live here. Liberian cities such as Monrovia and Buchanan were named for American Presidents and—in part of my district that I had for 30 years before it was redistricted out—the city of Trenton has a very large Liberian diaspora population with whom I got very close, and still do a great deal of case work for even though I don’t represent them because that bond is so strong. However, most Americans are largely unaware of the long link between United States and Liberia and likely see Liberia as just another African country. Most Americans are unaware that Liberia has been a major U.S. ally since World War II and into the Cold War, hosting U.S. com- munications facilities in the 1960s and 1970s, and has received ex- tensive U.S. development assistance including post-war aid and Ebola aid to Liberia. The United States has also helped Liberia build its criminal jus- tice sector and supported transitional justice efforts. U.S. has funded just over a quarter of the cost of United Nations Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) at a cost of about $106 million annu- ally as of fiscal year 2016. (1) VerDate 0ct 09 2002 11:23 Oct 05, 2017 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 F:\WORK\_AGH\091317\26837 SHIRL 2 Liberia is also implementing a $256.7 million 5-year MCC com- pact signed in 2015 designed to increase access to reliable afford- able electricity and enhance the country’s poor road infrastructure. Bilateral State Department and United States AGency for Inter- national Development (USAID) assistance totaled $91 million in Fiscal Year 2016. President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has made some advancement in democracy and governing during her two terms, and we applaud her for that, following the despotic rule of Charles Taylor. During his term of office, Taylor was accused of war crimes and crimes against humanity as a result of his involvement in the Si- erra Leone civil war from 1991 to 2002. He was also responsible for serious human rights violations in Liberia as well. Charles Taylor was formally indicted by the Special Court for Si- erra Leone in 2003, and I would note parenthetically that the chief prosecutor has been before this subcommittee, David Crane, many times and has provided useful insights as to what we need to do with regards to Syria and war crimes tribunals in another part of the world, all of that information, all of that wisdom gleaned from his work on the Special Court, which not only indicted but pros- ecuted successfully many, and eventually Charles Taylor, who as we all know, got 50 years and is currently serving that sentence at The Hague. The United States occasionally arrested the alleged perpetrators of civil rights human rights abuses, often using the immigration perjury charges as a vehicle for prosecution. One of them was Charles McArther Emmanuel, also known as Chuckie Taylor, the son of Charles Taylor. Raised in Florida, Emmanuel became the commander of the infa- mously violent Anti-Terrorist Unit, commonly known in Liberia as the Demon Forces. He is currently serving a 97-year sentence back in Florida for his role in human rights violations carried out by that so-called Anti- Terrorist Unit. President Sirleaf was unable to, under the constitution, run for a third term. But unlike many other leaders around the world, in- cluding in Africa, she did not push to change the constitution to allow a third term. We don’t know yet whether her successors can and will continue her upward trend. Most candidates for President have highlighted corruption. But as our witnesses