[JURIST] Liberia's Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC) [official website; JURIST news archive] chairman Jerome J. Verdier [official profile] said Friday that the TRC is facing severe financial difficulties [recorded audio] and has fallen three months behind schedule, noting that it has been "very unfortunate that as a truth commission we have to do fund-raising ourselves" as the Liberian government's "minimal commitment" is not sufficient to support the TRC's activities. Verdier said he hopes that the TRC will be able to resume its full operations by July and make up for lost time, and called on international donors and the Liberian government to increase their support for the TRC.

Last November, the TRC denied reports that it has shut down operations due to a lack of funds [JURIST reports], saying that although funding shortages are a continuing problem, the suspension of field interviews [JURIST report] from witnesses to crimes that occurred during Liberia's 14-year civil war [GlobalSecurity backgrounder] was a result of a planned procedural review. The TRC formally began its work [JURIST report] last June after being inaugurated [JURIST report] in February 2006. VOA News has more.