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The Executive Director of LAPS (Mr. Seidu Swaray) participated in a two-day National Transitional Justice call to action along with justice actors, Civil Society, Victims’ representatives, and the Human Rights Community at Corina Hotel in Monrovia from April 20-21, 2023.

By LAPS Communication Team

The working session was held on the theme “On the Path to Achieving Accountability for Past Crimes in Liberia”. 

The convening was in follow-up to the US Ambassador on Global Criminal Justice (War Crimes) visit to Liberia last October 2022. Day one of the working session was privately facilitated with only Civil society and other human rights actors in the room.

The main product of day 1 was the drafting and finalization of a joint position paper or communique to be submitted to the international community, reawakening the call for actions to address past war crimes committed in Liberia.

The session on day two was made public during which time, the position paper was presented to national and international actors, including representatives of various embassies and the press.

On an overall basis, during the convening, reflections on past justice work, opportunities, challenges, and a way forward leading to the signing of a communique by representatives attending as a call to action were carried out.

The Liberia Association of Psychosocial Services (LAPS) continued its collaboration through South to South Knowledge and Experience sharing between East and West Africa on collective action for collective impact in violence prevention with best practices and lessons learnt from Kenya and Liberia.

By LAPS Communication Team

LAPS, in collaboration with Community Health Care Initiative (CHI), hosted a 2-day Post Election Violence Prevention and Leadership Workshop at A la Lagune Resort located at Congo Town back road from the 4th to the 5th of December 2023.

Representatives from state and non-state actors, including government line ministries, Women Rights organizations, GBV response and prevention actors, community-based organizations, GBV Taskforce officials, Liberia National Police, and other members of the Intersectoral Violence Prevention Forum (IVPF) attended.

Overall, the workshop created a safe space for sharing experiences related to election violence prevention and response before, during, and after Elections using the Kenyan & Liberian Experiences.

Moreover, participants had the opportunity to analyse and leverage on election-related knowledge and experiences that can be utilized to inform future programming and interventions.

Besides, the workshop brainstormed alternative ways of addressing post-election tensions through short and long-term mitigation strategies. Moreover, the workshop strengthened collaborative efforts within the IVPF, across diverse sectors, and also established common agendas that created a shared vision for the prevention of violence in Liberia.

The Executive Director of the Liberia Association of Psychosocial Services (LAPS)-Mr. Seidu Swaray and Program Manager-Mrs.  Louise D. Quoi attended the NGO forum and the ACHPR conference of the African Union in Arusha, Tanzania, from the 16th to the 23^rd of October 2023.

By LAPS Communication Team

During the NGO Forum, LAPS became familiar with, learned, and shared human rights-related information, challenges, and lessons learned on the continent of Africa and beyond.

During the ACHPR conference, LAPS met and built connections with various commissioners in charge of Liberia and the thematic areas of its work. During the process, LAPS held discussions related to the human rights situation in Liberia and future collaboration. Through these interactions, LAPS strengthened its relationships with the ACHPR for the immediate and long term.

LAPS is a partner with the Danish Institute Against Torture (Dignity). In Arusha, LAPS  and some of the dignity partners in Africa also participated in a training on advocacy and engaged in present and future collaborative networking discussions. Moreover, the Dignity partners facilitated a side event on election violence prevention and torture on the margins of the ACHPR conference. During the event, each partner organization presented on the state of their respective activities in their countries of operation.

Through this event, LAPS strengthened its relationships and collaboration ties with and amongst Dignity partners in Africa.