An estimated 250,000 people died in 14 years of appalling bloodshed, but very few of those responsible have faced trial, an issue now back on the political agenda in the country.

On June 18, a Swiss court sentenced former warlord Alieu Kosiah to 20 years in prison after he became the first participant to be convicted of war crimes.

No one has been prosecuted in Liberia itself however, with many of the most guilty still powerful figures there.

On Thursday, the Liberia Bar Association and the Civil Society Group comprised of religious groups, a student union and women's and legal associations, among others, petitioned the legislature to create a tribunal for the country.

"We have not only drafted the law, we have made 176 copies for each member of the legislature to have one," bar association chairman Tiawon Gongloe told reporters.

The draft called for trials of the most notorious criminals and warlords, one of whom recently attained a high-level position in the Liberian Senate.

In May, Prince Johnson was elected head of the Liberian Senate Committee on Defense and Intelligence, drawing a sharp rebuke from the United States.

Meanwhile, cases against former commanders are underway in Finland, France and Switzerland.

The question of a Liberian war crimes tribunal was also raised this week during hearings by a committee of the US House of Representatives.

"It is not a mistake that this week we have presented a draft to you, this week there is a hearing in the US Congress," Gongloe noted, before adding: "The world wants peace for Liberia."

Liberia's two civil wars from 1989 to 1997 and from 1999 to 2003 were characterised by a litany of abuses attributed to all sides including massacres of civilians, torture, rape and drafting of child soldiers.

The country -- one of the poorest in the world -- was brought to its knees before being ravaged by an Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

Washington is a traditional ally of Liberia, which is Africa's oldest republic, founded in 1847 by freed US slaves.

Liberian representative Gontue Kargon received the petition "in good faith," he said, adding that if the document "is in the best interest of this nation, I am sure that the speaker will push it forward."