By Fanta L. Keita
The Independent National Human Rights Commission (INHRC) says it has rebuilt relations with international partners and overhauled its internal operations in the three months since President Joseph Nyuma Boakai suspended its Chairperson, Counselor T. Dempster Brown.
Speaking Thursday, October 8, 2026 at the Ministry of Information’s regular press briefing, Acting Chairperson Mohammed Fahnbulleh, appointed on June 26, said it was the first time the INHRC had briefed the public at the Ministry.
Mr. Fahnbulleh thanked the President for the suspension, saying it “restored sanity” and gave the Commission hope.
He blamed nearly five years of internal disputes for damaging the INHRC’s image and its ties with partners, including the European Union, some UN agencies and the Swedish Embassy.
However, the INHRC official asserted that recent meetings have restored those relations.
The Commission’s Act requires the board to meet twice monthly, or at least 24 times a year, INHRC boss said the board did not hold even five meetings in the two years before Mr. Brown’s suspension.
With help from the Civil Service Agency and the Liberia Anti-Corruption Commission, which seconded staff, the Commission has assigned terms of reference to all employees and developed Human Resource Management Software to track attendance and leave.
He added that staff will begin signing in and out on November 1, 2026 and a performance evaluation system starts in November–December. The Commission has also appointed a Learning Manager to run twice-monthly training sessions, he said.
He disclosed that the Commission has released its overdue 2025 Human Rights Situation Report about a month ago, adding that the report has been presented to the Chief Justice and will go to the legislative leadership when the Legislature resumes, citing that a 2026 report is expected in December.
The Commission also retained its “A-status” in a review by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions, which recommended amending the INHRC Act.
Fahnbulleh said a draft amendment prepared with the Law Reform Commission has been submitted to the Executive and the Legislature.
Responding to prison overcrowding highlighted in the 2025 report, he said the Commission is piloting a data collection project on pre-trial detainees in several counties, with the aim of pushing for speedy trials and the release of those held beyond the statutory period.
No government has acted on reparations since the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s final report, as he urged the government to allocate about US$250,000 to start a Victim Trust Fund.
Without dedicated funding, the Commission has helped arrange medical care for four war victims, he said, while many others still live with bullets in their bodies, insisting the INHRC leads on reparations and that other actors must consult it.
The INHRC Official disclosed that the Commission has secured land in Lofa County for a memorial to massacre victims.
Lofa residents have identified a suspect and want criminal accountability, urging lawmakers to move quickly on a war and economic crimes court.
He added that the Commission will mark Human Rights Day in December in Bomi County and plans to monitor orphanages and safe homes after reports of deplorable conditions and child deaths.
Fahnbulleh also revealed that the entity is seeking a staff transport bus, as the INHRC has never had one.