Conviction of Liberian Warlord Puts Spotlight on Universal Jurisdiction and Liberian Accountability

On June 18, 2021, the Swiss Federal Criminal Court convicted Liberian warlord Alieu Kosiah, 46, of crimes against humanity committed during the country’s first civil war, fought from 1989 to 1996. The decision has raised issues of a lack of accountability in Liberia and the use of universal jurisdiction to prosecute war crimes outside of the jurisdiction in which they were committed.