'We should not allow intimidation to take us away from our work. If we seek local remedy and there is no way, we should be able to at least get to regional and international mechanisms that will compel governments to conform to our work.'
The Liberia Coalition for human rights defenders was established in 2002. With the election of its new Board in 2020 and a new leadership, the Coalition aims to further strengthen its capacity and visibility and work in the country to ensure defenders are protected.
On Wednesday 24 November, Commissioner Solomon Ayele Dersso, Chairperson of the working group on extractive industries, environment and human rights violations in Africa (WGEI) presented his inter-sessional activity report.
For recommendations by UN mechanisms to improve the lives of people on the ground, human rights defenders must push for implementation at the national level. This month, ISHR & LEGAL worked with defenders from across Liberia to map out strategies to turn UN recommendations on LGBT issues into reality.
Over two intense weeks, 18 dedicated human rights defenders participating in ISHR’s 2019 Human Rights Defenders Advocacy Programme (HRDAP) exchanged experiences, strengthened their skills, put them into practice, and built a network of allies in Geneva and across the globe.
ISHR's flagship Human Rights Defenders Advocacy Programme begins on Monday 17 June, with 18 inspiring human rights defenders from around the globe travelling to Geneva to learn how to use the UN mechanisms for even greater impact on the ground.
'Our support, our struggle, can change things for the betterment of our country', said James Otto in his interview with ISHR. We had the honour to talk to him when he was in Geneva for the Forum on Business and Human Rights.
This issue of Kumulika - our analytical publication on the African Commission - covers key developments at the 55th session and the NGO Forum which preceded it.
(Geneva) - Liberia is scheduled to be reviewed at the 22nd session of the Universal Periodic Review in April 2015. In the absence of a protective legal or policy framework, human rights defenders in Liberia remain vulnerable and are frequently subject to arbitrary arrest and detention, lengthy imprisonment, and even torture. Out-dated libel and defamation laws are used and misused by both State and non-State actors to silence dissent and criminalise the work of defenders.
