BUCHANAN, Grand Bassa – Members of the Human Rights Advocacy Platform, a group of civil society organizations focused on the promotion and protection of human rights in Liberia, have met in Buchanan for a three-day operational retreat to assess the state of affairs of human rights issues in the country.

Institutional members of the platform include the Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia, the Justice and Peace Commission, FIND Liberia, Prison Fellowship Liberia, Independent Human Rights Investigators, and Rural Human Rights.

The retreat began on Thursday, Dec. 19 and was sponsored by the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

The group’s secretary, Adama Dempster, told journalists that at the retreat, members aimed to assess the impact of their advocacy, trending human rights issues that require attention, as well as the status of Liberia’s commitment to international human rights protocols.

“We also want to evaluate our relationship with the Independent National Commission on Human Rights, INCHR; and how the INCHR and civil society can work together to improve, promote and promote human rights protection in Liberia,” Dempster said.

Adama Dempster speaking at the opening of a three-day operational retreat. Photo: Human Rights Advocacy Platform

Dempster also disclosed that his group has plans to work with regional human rights groups within the ECOWAS community and the African Union on rights issues related to the maintenance of peace and security. He believes this is one way to help Liberia fulfil its commitment to human rights enshrined in international laws and treaties.

While there exists a cordial working relationship between the organization and responsible government actors, the government appears to have repeatedly reneged on a number of core human rights obligations, including those related to the overcrowding of prisons and the mysterious deaths and reports of underaged children reportedly committing suicide by hanging themselves.

“We need clarifications. We need to get full reports of what has happened in these instances,” Dempster demanded. He also stressed the need for his group to also individually follow up on these investigations.

Dempster also revealed his organization’s plans for 2020, a key feature of which is the inclusion of new human rights skills training for members to monitor the implementation of the national budget on matters of economic, social, and cultural rights, the health sector, elections, as well as monitoring the heightened political atmosphere to ensure accountability on all sides.

Also speaking at the event was the chairman of the CSO Advocacy Platform, Francis Kollie, who is also the executive director for Prison Fellowship Liberia. Kollie emphasized the urgency for human rights monitoring as reports of abuses in Liberia appear to be on the rise.

Chairman of CSO Human Rights Advocacy Platform, Charles Kollie. Photo: Human Rights Advocacy Platform

“We want to hold people accountable. So, one voice cannot make a change,” Kollie told the group of journalists.

“The forces we have brought on board are different civil society organizations, coming from different backgrounds. Those that are working on labor human rights, business human rights, health human rights… So, we bring all of these people to make the force stronger so that when we speak, [the] government will listen.”

Kollie emphasized the need for a stronger partnership between the government and civil society organizations.

“We don’t want the government to see us as [an] enemy to the state; we are partners. We’re trying to just highlight to them what they need to do so that Liberia can become one of the best countries in the world,” he said.

Featured photo courtesy of the Human Rights Advocacy Platform