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Liberia

IIAP helps facilitate the statement-taking process in Liberia

In September 2007, IIAP entered into a memorandum of understanding with the Truth & Reconciliation Commission of Liberia (‘TRC’) to help facilitate the taking of statements of Liberians for the TRC by building the capacity of religious and traditional leaders to accompany their communities through the TRC process.

		Capacity-building training at the Catholic Archdiocese Facilities in Gbarnga, Bong County.

Working in association with the Inter Religious Council of Liberia, IIAP presented a capacity-building workshop with leaders of religious and traditional communities throughout Liberia in May of 2008. This unprecedented undertaking represented the first time a collaborative peacemaking initiative held at the national level engaged Christian, Muslim and Traditional leaders in a unified effort towards national healing and reconciliation.

		A Regional Action Team strategizes its implementation plan in a palava hut.

The three-day workshop culminated in the creation of ‘Regional Action Teams’ whose objectives are to implement community-based reconciliation programs and to sensitize their communities to the TRC process. The eight ‘Regional Action Teams’ represent the eight regions of Liberia identified by the TRC’s Subcommittee on the Role of Religious and Traditional Institutions During the Conflict and in Peacebuilding for its work. Each Regional Action Team is comprised of a Christian, Muslim, and Traditional leader from that region. Working with grants funded by The Oliver Family Foundation, these Regional Action Teams are creating culturally-appropriate programs to rehabilitate community relationships destroyed by the 14-year conflict, connecting victims with social services offered in the community to address their needs and to initiate memorialization activities to acknowledge the past in a way that leads to healing and reconciliation.

		The Rev. William R. Tolbert, III, iiap Coordinator for Liberia, delivers a certificate to a participant from the National Traditional Council of Liberia.

A valuable byproduct of this process is the benefit of inter-religious collaboration. By implementing the common goals of peace and restorative justice, but through the exercise of their own religious traditions, this initiative also helps diffuse the underlying tensions that sometimes create the conditions for conflict.

IIAP Assists in Preparation of TRC’s Final Report

In May of 2009, IIAP President Michael A. Eastridge traveled to Liberia’s capitol, Monrovia, to assist in the drafting of the Truth & Reconciliation Commission’s Final Report relating specifically to the role of Religious and Traditional Institutions During the Conflict and in Peacebuilding.

		(L-R) Itonde Kakoma, The Carter Center, Estelle Archibold, Emory Institute for Developing Nations, David Kortee, The Carter Center, Michael A. Eastridge, IIAP.

Meeting with the Inter Religious Council of Liberia, the unified National Muslim Council of Liberia, the National Traditional Council of Liberia, and the leadership of the Liberian Council of Churches, among other stakeholders, Eastridge and colleague Itonde Kakoma of The Carter Center were able to engage in dialogue necessary to encapsulate the diverse perspectives on the role of these institutions during Liberia’s conflict.

Working in close cooperation with the TRC’s Drafting Committee and the Subcommittee on the Role of Religious and Traditional Institutions During the Conflict and in Peacebuilding, the IIAP was able to contribute to the historical understanding of the integral role religious leaders and their institutions played both in perpetuating conflict and in leading peacemaking efforts.

		(L-R) Michael A. Eastridge, IIAP, Nathaniel Kwabo, Executive Secretary of the TRC of Liberia, Itonde Kakoma, The Carter Center, Cllr. Jerome Verdier, Chair of the TRC of Liberia

Much attention has been given to portions of the TRC’s Final Report not directly related to the role of religious and traditional institutions – such as the recommendations for sanctions and prosecution of perpetrators. The IIAP remains involved in building the capacity of religious and traditional communities to continue the hard work of national healing and reconciliation.

Southeast U.S. diaspora

		IIAP President Michael A. Eastridge formally recognizes volunteers who served as statement-takers on behalf of the TRC of Liberia in the diaspora project.

Diaspora Project Concludes on a High Note

The initiative to include Liberians living in the southeastern U.S. in the truth and reconciliation process formally concluded recently at a forum hosted by The Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia.

The Truth & Reconciliation Commission of Liberia made history by becoming the first truth and reconciliation commission to include its citizens living outside of its borders, (the ‘diaspora’) in the truth and reconciliation process. Managed through a memorandum of understanding with The Advocates for Human Rights in Minnesota and under the direction of TRC Commissioner Massa Washington, the engagement of the Liberian community in the metro Atlanta area was successfully undertaken by an innovative collaborate effort known as The Atlanta Friends of the Liberian TRC, (or ‘ATL-TRC’ ). The ATL-TRC was comprised of institutions and organizations including The Carter Center, Emory University, Georgia Tech, The Liberian Association of Metro Atlanta, the law firm of King & Spalding and IIAP, among others.

The role of the IIAP in the diaspora project included the training of volunteers from area law firms, academic institutions, psycho-social organizations, and the community to take statements of witnesses who wished to share their experiences during the conflict with the Truth & Reconciliation Commission of Liberia. The IIAP also coordinated the actual taking of statements and their secure transmission to the TRC of Liberia.

		Over 100 interested members of the Liberian community and volunteers discuss the Final Report of the TRC of Liberia.

The ATL-TRC recently celebrated the successful conclusion of the diaspora project by hosting a forum at The Carter Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The forum was held both to recognize the significant contributions of the volunteers and ATL-TRC partners and to engage the Liberian community in dialogue concerning the Final Report of the TRC of Liberia. The TRC’s Final Report has generated significant debate, and the forum gave interested persons an opportunity to hear directly from TRC Commissioner Massa Washington and a representative from The Advocates for Human Rights, Ahmed Sirleaf, about the process and ultimate recommendations made by the TRC. As a result of this productive dialogue, IIAP will continue to support the efforts of the Liberian community in the diaspora to secure those things that promise lasting peace and national healing both inside and outside of Liberia.

		TRC Commissioner Massa Washington addresses the ATL-TRC forum participants.

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