PHOTO: RICCE CEO Salone G. Gofan
The Rural Integrated Center for Community Empowerment (RICCE) has been outlining the inroads it made in 2019 as a lead human Rights advocacy group in Nimba County, Northeastern Liberia.
During the year in review, RICCE and its partner, UNDP and the Office of United Nations High Commission on Human Rights in Liberia undertook various projects in the rule of law and access to justice, says the CEO of RICCE, Salone G. Gofan.
The project began in
2018 in Nimba County and was extended based on their success.
RICCE has supported indigent
women and girls faced with sexual base violence especially rape and domestic
violence to access Pro Bono legal representations at police station and the Circuit
Court to hear their cases.
In 2019, RICCE access to Justice also provides income generation support to survivals facing reprisal from their families and communities to resettle in safe communities and also providing medical, psychosocial counseling and rehabilitation to survivors.
The local rights
advocacy group also supports the Liberian National police to conduct crime
scene investigation that fast track court hearing contributing to due process
rights of both detainees and victims.
In the year 2019, RICCE says
it successfully supported the adjudication of 34 cases of rape whose victims
who come from poor families and remote communities across Nimba County, who
cannot afford to forward or process their cases.
According to the group, 19 of these cases were tried and perpetrators were sentenced. This has contributed to the prosecution of rape cases that have been on court dockets since 2016 up to present, according to a RICCE report.
One of those Human Right cases which raised eyebrow in the public. And several women’s groups protested, demanding justice for an 11-year old girl, who was raped, murdered and secretly buried in early 2019 in Boweh-Saclepea Mah District. That cas was one hundred percent supported by RICCE.
In supporting that
case, RICCE looked out for the interest of the family, assisting with lawyers,
transportation, accommodation and other legal expenses of witnesses during the
trial.
In addition to the support to
court trials and police, RICCE has also conducted awareness and training in 39
local communities across Nimba County.
The group also established 19 communities support structures to prevent the occurrence of rape and domestic violence as well as response to cases through referral to the proper authorities such as health and police when they occur.
RICCE is also said to have trained informal and formal access to Justice. Report by Garmah Never Lomo