Making justice tangible and accessible : Civitas Maxima in Liberia to meet with the victims of Kunti Kamara
On March 27, 2024, the Paris Court of Appeal sentenced Kunti Kamara, a former ULIMO commander, to 30 years of imprisonment for committing acts of torture and barbarity and for complicity in crimes against humanity between 1993 and 1994. This judgment marked a step forward in the fight against impunity. It sent an important message to both perpetrators and victims of the most serious crimes: these crimes do not go unpunished.
To convey this message, a team from Civitas Maxima and GJRP, accompanied by Sabrina Delattre, counsel for the civil parties, traveled in January to meet the victims in this case in Lofa County, in northwestern Liberia. The purpose of this visit was to discuss the appeal decision, explain its key elements, and answer any questions the victims had.
The meeting took place in Foya, near the borders of Guinea and Sierra Leone. This remote town, without electricity or running water, had been the scene of crimes committed by Kunti Kamara during the First Liberian Civil War. Many victims from the region had traveled to Paris to testify at the trial, both at first instance in 2022 and on appeal in 2024.
Welcomed over a shared meal, Sabrina Delattre and the Civitas Maxima and GJRP team read and explained the Court of Appleal’s ruling, the judges’ arguments, and the sentence. They decoded the legal language of the decision and summarized the court’s conclusions on Kunti Kamara’s guilt for each crime committed. This step was especially important as the judges not only acknowledged the suffering endured by the people of Lofa, but also recognized the courage of the victims who testified before French courts in their pursuit of justice.
During their visit to Lofa, the team also visited several locations to commemorate the tragic events that had taken place in the region. Some victims welcomed Ms Delattre and the Civitas Maxima and GJRP team to memory sites to honor the deceased and share with them the outcome of the trial.
These emotionally charged moments in Foya were invaluable for both the victims and the team. They could not have taken place if the verdict had simply been communicated in writing.
“Organizing a trip to Foya was both a necessity and an opportunity that could not be missed: it allowed us to discuss the decision, translate it into understandable terms, and also gather the perspectives and testimonies of the victims on how they experienced the proceedings, the hearings, and the verdict. It was also important to read them the passages that concerned them directly. This meeting also allowed me to see the victims outside of this grueling process, in a familiar setting that I was able to (re)discover.”
Sabrina Delattre, Counsel for civil parties
Making justice tangible and accessible
At the core of Civitas Maxima’s mandate, a victim-centered approach ensures that justice is truly received and understood by the affected communities.
When the gap between the country where the crimes were committed and the country where the trial takes place is so vast—both in terms of the reality of the facts and the daily lives of the victims—their presence in the courtroom is crucial. In Kunti Kamara’s trial, the fact that victims were able to recount and express the reality of Liberia within the Paris courtroom was essential, not only for them but also for the judges and jurors.
In turn, traveling to the locations described during the hearings to directly communicate the decision to the victims—as the result of their own efforts—was essential to making international justice tangible and accessible to those most affected.
Photo credit: Civitas Maxima
