The United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in collaboration with the Liberia Peacebuilding Office (LPBO) and the Independent National Commission on Human Rights (INCHR), has ended a two-day regional training for community peace structures, including the Community Peace Committee, Early Warning Early Response volunteers, women and youth groups, and religious and traditional leaders, on mitigating violence before, during, and after the electoral process in Liberia. The training was held in Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County, from May 23–24, 2023.
According to an OHCHR human rights officer, Atty. Roosevelt Jayjay, the training aimed at strengthening participants’ skills and knowledge in handling electoral and preventing violence by adopting a human rights-based approach and response to human rights issues and violations arising out of the electoral process.
He said the Zwedru training was the last of four regional trainings throughout the country intended to strengthen existing community peace structures to monitor early warning signs of electoral violence at the local and national levels and adopt human rights-based principles in resolving electoral violence issues.
The OHCHR human rights officer informed participants that the UN human rights office is working with national institutions such as the Independent National Commission on Human Rights, the Law Reform Commission, the Ministry of Justice, the National Commission on Disabilities, and other institutions to build their capacity in the fulfillment of their statutory mandate to promote and protect human rights throughout Liberia.
“We also support civil society organizations and other network groups at the national and county levels to sustain the advocacy for human rights promotion and protection in Liberia,” he stressed.
“These trainings are an activity under the Peacebuilding project on “enhancing the peaceful electoral environment and community security before, during, and after the 2023 general and presidential elections in Liberia and are funded by the Liberia Peacebuilding Office,” he observed.
He stressed the importance of the Community Peace Committee, Early Warning and Early Response volunteers, religious and traditional leaders, as well as women and youth groups, in mitigating violence and ensuring a peaceful election in Liberia.
The coordinator of the Justice, Peace, and Security Hub #3 in Grand Gedeh County, Richard Gbaduo, said the training is a refresher that should be taken very seriously because it will enhance their skills in dealing with the signs and triggers of violence and how to report them for a timely response by the relevant authority.
Speaking on behalf of the INCHR, Grand Gedeh County human rights officer Alex Yonly pledged the Commission’s continuous support in working with national and international partners to ensure the rights of citizens and foreign nationals living within the borders of Liberia are respected and protected.
“The Commission is committed to working with all our partners to ensure that the rights of all persons within our borders are respected, protected, and fulfilled,” Mr. Yonly said.
He stressed the need for more training to build the capacity of human rights defenders across the country.
However, the participants hailed the Liberian Peacebuilding Office, the OHCHR, the INCHR, and its partners for the training and called on them for more training that would build their capacity. They believe that this training has come at a time when the country is politically charged, with the smell of elections everywhere.
Speaking on behalf of the participants, an Early Warning and Early Response volunteer, Madam Mai-Frances Railey, said, “We appreciate OHCHR, INCHR, LPBO, and all partners who supported this workshop.
She continued, “We are grateful for the knowledge gained. We, however, call on them for logistical support to ease our job as we go from town to town with the ‘violence-free election message.”
Over 60 participants, including Community Peace Committees (CPCs), Early Warning and Early Response (EWER) officers, religious and traditional leaders, women, and youth groups, are expected to attend.
Similar training was held in Tubmanburg, Bomi County for Bomi, Grand Cape Mount, and Gbapolu Counties; in Buchanan for Grand Bassa, Margibi, River Cess, and Sinoe Counties; and in Gbarnga for Bong, Lofa, and Nimba Counties.
