A New Day for Liberia

More than 90 members of the Bassa tribe living near Buchanan, Liberia, were arrested in January for refusing to leave their land that they had lived on for more than 100 years. Green Advocates is providing legal assistance to them and others forced off their land. PHOTO: Green Advocates

Jerome Verdier is a leading human rights and environmental lawyer at the Association of Environmental Lawyers (Green Advocates), Liberia`s only public interest environmental law organization. Jerome traveled to Eugene recently on a Working Exchange Fellowship at E-LAW U.S.

E-LAW U.S. helped Jerome and his colleagues launch Green Advocates in 2001 and is providing Green Advocates with critical legal and scientific support for their efforts to strengthen the rule of law and defend the environment and human rights in Liberia.

In a new effort, E-LAW U.S. is helping Green Advocates create and host a web site. This web site will make critical environmental resources available to Liberians and help Green Advocates raise its public profile.

15 years of civil war

In 2003, President Charles Taylor fled Liberia for refuge in Nigeria, and a transitional government came into power. This brought to an end more than 15 years of civil war in Liberia. A root cause of this longstanding war was uncontrolled exploitation of Liberia`s natural resources, fueled by government corruption.

Liberia is home to two of the three largest remaining intact blocks of Upper Guinean rainforest. These forests harbor many endemic species found nowhere else, including the pygmy hippopotamus, zebra duiker, and Liberian mongoose. Liberia is also rich in mineral deposits.

In the past, Liberian communities had a voice in the management of forests and mineral deposits. In recent years, corrupt government officials and companies friendly to the government have run Liberia like their personal farm -- harvesting timber, mining gold and iron -- while squandering profits and damaging ecosystems.

Jerome is photographed here with E-LAW U.S. Executive Director, Bern Johnson, as guests on Eugene`s new Air America affiliate, KOPT-1600 AM.

"We want to see a new generation of leaders who have compassion for people and will respect the rule of law," says Jerome. E-LAW U.S. is working with Green Advocates to ensure that in this time of rebuilding, Liberia puts in place strong environmental laws that provide citizens with a real opportunity to participate in decisions about the environment, and help communities implement and enforce these laws.

Jerome is currently working pro bono to ensure the indictment and prosecution of Liberia`s former president, Charles Taylor, by the International Criminal Tribunal for Sierra Leone. Taylor is accused of crimes against humanity, as well as the plunder of Sierra Leone`s natural resources. Jerome is the Director of Liberia Democracy Watch and has worked for years to promote transparency, accountability, and good governance in Liberia.

A transitional government is now in place in Liberia and elections are planned for October.

E-LAW U.S. thanks the Whole Systems Foundation, the Spirit Mountain Community Fund, the University of Oregon School of Law Public Interest-Public Service Program, and the Wayne Morse Center for Law and Politics for supporting Jerome`s public presentation at the University of Oregon School of Law ("Fighting for Human Rights and the Environment: Liberia After Charles Taylor," April 14, 2005), and his participation in the 2005 E-LAW Annual Meeting and the 23rd Public Interest Environmental Law Conference .