Supporting Liberia's Peacebuilding Efforts
13 September 2023
The presidential and legislative elections planned for 10 October 2023, the first general elections following the closure of UNMIL in 2018, provide Liberia with the opportunity to further consolidate peace and democratic gains. While preparations for the elections are advanced, the risk of pre-electoral and post-electoral violence exist, and the full, equal, and meaningful political participation of women and youth remain an obstacle.
The Peacebuilding Support Office (PBSO) has provided long-term support to Liberia¡¯s peacebuilding efforts, including through the Secretary-General¡¯s Peacebuilding Fund (PBF) and the Peacebuilding Commission (PBC). PBSO¡¯s support to the 2023 elections has focused on creating a conducive environment for peaceful elections and ensuring women¡¯s and youth political participation.
The PBC Liberia Configuration has provided essential political accompaniment in support of Liberia¡¯s peacebuilding efforts since 2010. During the past year, the engagement has focused on support to free, fair, peaceful, inclusive, transparent, and credible elections as well as women¡¯s and youth empowerment. As a result, the PBC has brought national and international stakeholders and partners, including the Government, electoral stakeholders, and civil society together to discuss the progress and key issues of the electoral preparations. The PBC has advocated for the Government¡¯s timely and adequate funding for the National Elections Commission (NEC), the endorsement of the 30 per cent gender quota for senior political party leadership and candidate listings in elections, the need to eliminate sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV) and to fully implement the Protocol on Violence against Women in Elections and Politics (VAWiE), as well as the constructive inclusion of youth in electoral processes and decision-making at all levels.
In parallel, the PBF is supporting several initiatives contributing to a more peaceful electoral environment before, during, and after the 2023 elections, focusing on early warning and prevention of potential triggers of conflict to mitigate possible electoral violence and on fostering greater participation of women and youth in the electoral process.
Through a $2 million UN Women and UNDP initiative, the PBF has supported women¡¯s equal participation in politics and strengthened prevention and response to electoral violence against women, including through capacity-building, mobilization, advocacy, as well as institutional support to electoral stakeholders. A critical milestone was achieved through the signing of a memorandum of understanding by the NEC and 23 (88 per cent) political parties and coalitions on the implementation of the Section 4.5 of the existing Elections Law, which stipulates a minimum of 30 per cent gender quota on candidate listings. Further, the signing of the VAWiE by the NEC and 29 political parties in February 2022 was a considerable achievement. The initiative has also supported local partners to raise awareness on the Protocol to advance women¡¯s free, safe, and equal participation in elections and local governance. A national platform to collect data, assess risks, and provide effective responses to violence against women in elections was also created.
In addition, through a $3 million UNDP, OHCHR and IOM project, the PBF has contribute to strengthen electoral violence prevention initiatives and a more inclusive, coordinated, and effective Early Warning and Response (EWER) mechanism. The project has advanced community involvement in maintaining peace by establishing and training 50 ¡®Community Watch Teams¡¯ (CWT) in 50 communities across the country on mediation skills and EWER systems management. In addition to mitigating and resolving conflicts, the CWT work towards sensitizing communities on peace and conflict factors. Further, the project has contributed to improve community-police relationship to minimize community-level violence as well as reinforce the competencies of stakeholders, such as women groups, traditional leaders, and community-based organizations, to apply human rights standards and to address human rights issues in communities more effectively.