By Our Staff Writer
A report just released by European Union (EU) says “lthough Liberia has gone far in the last 15 years since the end of civil war, the country is still fragile.”
In the Liberia portion of the EU Annual Report on Human Rights and Democracy in the World released on Friday, May 24, 2019, the EU emphasized the crucial need for this West African country “to consolidate inclusive and accountable governance, social cohesion, women empowerment, national dialogue and reconciliation, rule of law, decentralisation and land reform.
The report although the 2017 peaceful elections and the successful and historic handover of power in 2018 was “a major milestone for democracy in Liberia,” the challenges in building democratic institutions remain enormous as regards human rights and democracy.
“2018 saw progress in some areas of human rights and democracy, while in others the situation remained unchanged or even deteriorated,” the EU says.
The report also notes that President George Manneh Weah, who took office on January 22, 2018, committed himself to maintaining the relatively positive environment for civil and political rights.”
But the report underscores the need to strengthen democratic institutions and with support to the civil society, so as “to ensure both the demand for accountability and good governance and the capacity to deliver it.”
“Concerns remain in the areas of death penalty, enforcement of legislation against child labour and exploitation, as well as access to justice, health and education, lengthy pre-trial detention, poor prison conditions and questions regarding the sound management of Liberia’s significant natural resources,” the EU Annual Report says.
The report cites two reasons hampering enforcement of legislations intended to protect human rights in Liberia.
It mentions “lack of resources and a reluctance to challenge traditional practices and attitudes that violate human rights.”
The EU says it has been actively engaged in a number of ways in efforts to improve democratic governance and human rights in Liberia over the years by being actively involved in several key focus areas including through bilateral political and financial engagements, as well as the multilateral context.
According to the report, the EU action in Liberia are in the areas of human rights and democracy focussed on women’s rights, accountability of parliament, strengthening key autonomous institutions to monitor, enforce and promote good governance. Other areas include strengthening the capacity of civil society, improving prison conditions and reducing pre-trial detention.
The EU also cited its Human rights dialogue with Liberia, which is carried out as part of the EU-Liberia Article 8 Political Dialogue.
The EU 2019 report says although Liberia has ratified the main international human rights instruments, a number of these instruments are yet to be integrated into domestic law.
In the report, the Europeans again raised concerns about the lack of implementation of recommendations issued by the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), de facto discrimination of individuals belonging to certain vulnerable groups and of LGBTI persons, etc.