By Never G. Lomo

Liberia’s women Human Rights Defenders has underscored and outlined its numerous challenges confronting them in defending rights of victims.

Giving over view of the meeting, the out going Chairman of the Liberia Coalition for Human rights Defenders Mr. Duwana Kingsley said, Liberia is among sixteen countries in West Africa are part of the human rights Defenders.

The meeting was held in central Monrovia under the theme: Campaign strengthening the protection of women human rights Defenders and vulnerable.

Mr. Kingsley disclosed that a survey was done in seven west African countries as a case study particularly focusing on women human rights Defenders and the West African human rights network.

The chairman of the Liberia Coalition for Human rights Defenders added that out of the sixteen countries, eleven countries are called national human rights but Liberia is yet to elect their Network head due to COVID 19 and other challenges.

The plan meeting was particularly focused on challenges confronting women human rights Defenders and the way forward.

During the meeting, women human rights Defenders name the lack of Security, lack of will for family to turn over perpetrators, traditional interference, cash violence against victims, state lawyers sometimes failed to prosecute the matter due to the name involved and the unwilling for community members to release information especially when family members involved.

Also human rights Defenders lives are at risk, threatened, harrased, intimidated and sometimes can be sexually abused among several others.

For her part, the Executive Director for the National institute for public opinion (NIPO) Madam Roseline Thomas Richards said, the objective of the meeting is to profile the barrier of what hinder women human rights Defenders from doing their work.

Madam Richards cautioned rights Defenders to be security for themselves for now since there is no law protecting rights Defenders.

She added most often, when women and girls are victimized of a situation, there is no protection for them but they will go live in the same community with family members of the perpetrators with their lives not been secured.

NIPO executive director called on rights Defenders not to fear anything in doing their job or reporting any human rights issues in their respective communities.

At the end of the meeting, women human rights Defenders recommended some issues to be looked at in combating their challenges.

The meeting was funded by the west Human rights Defenders network and implemented by the Liberia Coalition for Human rights Defenders and it is said to be held on a quarterly basis.