Liberia has sent a six-member delegation to Sierra Leone to study the country’s Human Rights Commission (HRCSL).
According to a release from the HRCSL, the Independent National Commission on Human Rights in Liberia “will enquire in to Inter- departments coordination and reporting, requirement for achieving ‘A’ status, International Protocols and their ratification as national instruments, networking with other institutions of government responsible for human rights as well as CSOs, fund raising with donor organizations and the Commission’s role in the implementation of the TRC.”
Many have credited the HRCSL as one of the most effective state institutions in the country which has come out to criticise government human rights approach in many regards, a rarity in Sierra Leone.
This has catapulted the institution to be accredited by the Global Alliance for National Human Rights Institutions giving it a Category ‘A’ status.
The Liberian human rights outfit was set up as part of the peace process that ended the civil war there, while the Sierra Leone commission was a recommendation of the Truth and reconciliation Commission.
The delegation will also “share cross country experiences and forge partnerships”.
While here the Liberian delegation will meet with state and non-state institutions in the capital, Freetown and in the provinces.
Led by its Acting Chairman, Rev Bartholomew B. Colley, the delegation also includes Tonia A. Talery-Wills (Commissioner with Oversight for the Department of Legislative Assistance, Treaty Matters and Law), Wilfred N. Gray-Johnson (Commissioner with Oversight for the Department of Planning, Internal Monitoring and Evaluation), Herron S. Gbidi (Executive Director), Christo Gorpudolo (Coordinator- Department for Complaints) and Joseph Blamiyon (Program Officer- Project Management Unit, Palava Hut Project).
(C) Politico 2016
