The Institute for Democratic Action & Development (IDAD), in collaboration with partners, is helping to secure justice and security for the Liberians through a project titled “Strengthening Access to Justice and Enhancing Community Responses to COVID-19 and Related Pandemics”. The project will use various methods, including seminars, workshops, study missions and attachments to provide training to traditional leaders on the Constitution, customary law, legislation, statues, court precedent and the role of the specialized Court “E”, human rights, including SGBV and due process.
During the project, a training of trainers’ (TOT) courses for community and religious leaders and women and youth groups in contact tracing, sanitation and other essential health practices will also be conducted to help prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other pandemics. It has been agreed with UNDP that the project will work toward the following outcome: ensure a more inclusive and accountable justice system that is effective, transparent and gender responsive at the national and county level.
The project will build on the lessons learned during various UN systems’ engagements and efforts with peace building in Liberia. Capitalizing on the comparative advantages of IDAD and the CBOs in the targeted county, activities have been carefully designed to achieve output and contribute to outcome-level change that impacts access to justice for ordinary Liberians.
The project seeks to ensure a more inconclusive and accountable system that is effective, transparent, and gender, responsive, at the national and county level, communities in targeted counties are aware of health and sanitation practices and are able to prevent COVID-19 and related pandemics.
The project is being implemented by the Institute for Democratic Action & Development (IDAD), with funding support from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
The project will provide legal education and judicial empowerment to traditional leaders in selected communities in Nimba County to effectively and efficiently dispense justice in a sustained, timely, and organized manner. Additionally, communities in targeted communities will be aware of health and sanitation practices and are able to prevent COVID-19 and related pandemics.
The project will provide the golden opportunities for the chiefs and elders to adapt the best approaches and practices geared towards protecting human rights and people’s dignity as Liberia strives to become a better place for rule of law and access to justice. Serious emphasis and spotlight will be placed on the cohesive and linkages between and amongst legal approaches and remedies to dispense justice in a more organized manner.
As part of the project implementation strategies, the Institute for Democratic Action and Development will officially launch the Access to Justice Project in Ganta, Nimba County. The launch will set the pace and space for the institution’s preparedness and readiness for the implementation of the project, which is expected to take place in Nimba County.