RWU Law Students and Pro Bono Attorneys to Assist Liberian Truth and Reconciliation Commission

Many Liberian refugees suffered terrible human rights atrocities during many years of civil war, and like other war-torn societies trying to move past deeply troubled times, Liberia has created a Truth and Reconciliation Commission to deal with its past.  This semester, eleven RWU law students are working with attorneys from leading firms Dechert; Edwards, Angell, Palmer and Dodge; and DLA Piper, to take statements from Liberians living in Rhode Island.  The students and attorneys were trained by Advocates for Human Rights, the group organizing the statement-taking project in the U.S., and members of the Liberian Community Association of Rhode Island. The statements will be provided to the Truth and Reconciliation Commission to help bring perpetrators to justice and heal the wounds caused by decades of unrest.

Law students are participating in the project under the auspices of RWU’s unique Pro Bono Collaborative, which partners law students with law firm attorneys on pro bono projects. Edwards, Angell, Palmer and Dodge, one of the firms active in the PBC, has four attorneys partnering with RWU students on the project.

For more information about the project, see the Providence Journal article here.

Ahmed Sirleaf from Advocates for Human Rights, Tom Rider, 2L, and Liz Tobin Tyler of our Feinstein Institute

Update: More press coverage of this effort can be found here.