Liberian youth continue to stand up for human rights, promoting peace, and contributing to sustainable development despite the impact of the COVID-19 crisis and their exclusion from influencing decisions about their own lives within their communities and the society at large.

As part of these efforts, Youth-led organizations participated in the first National Inception Workshop on maintaining national peace and security in Liberia, held in 2019.

This workshop identified some root causes of Liberia’s 14-year civil war as triggers of violence, most of which remain unaddressed. They include land disputes, access to justice, the effective administration of justice, ensuring equality before the law, the exclusion of young people in governance, economic processes, and peacebuilding efforts.

The active participation of young people in this workshop, allowed them to identify and share their policy recommendations with decision-makers and development partners.

“We recommended that peacebuilding campaigns begin ahead of elections because change is not an event; it takes time to develop,” said Mr. Peter N. Dolo, Founder and CEO, Community Solutions Aid, which is based in Bong County, Liberia.

Article originally published by UNDP Liberia 

Tirelo Makwela