IPNEWS-Monrovia – On Friday, February 18, 2022 in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, the Gender Section of the National Elections Commission (NEC), in collaboration with UN Women organized a signing program and witnessed by several elections stakeholders in Liberia for the NEC and registered political parties in the country to sign the Violence against Women in Elections and Politics, the (VAWIE/P) Code of Behavior/Protocol.

The signing of the VAWIE/P Code of Behavior/Protocol, commits political parties to fully implement, and promote the Code of Behavior/Protocol throughout the country.

A release Wednesday from NEC said over 26 Executives of Political Parties and the Chairperson of the NEC, Ms. Davidetta Browne Lansanah signed the protocol for their respective Institutions.

The NEC Chairperson thanked the Political Parties Representatives for forming a part of what, she described as an important endeavor. Ms. Lansanah informed the participants that the Commission will work with political parties and all relevant stakeholders to fully implement the VAWIE/P Protocol, in an effort to end Violence against Women in Elections and Politics in Liberia.

The NEC Chairperson also thanked all partners and stakeholders for their different roles and contributions that led to the signing of the Protocol. However, the NEC Boss wished that the signing of the VAWIE/P protocol will not be a waste, like other singed documents.

The overall objective of the present Code of Behavior/Protocol is to fill gaps identified in the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) relating to the Inter Party Consultative Committee (IPCC) meeting and the Code of Conduct for Political Parties while promoting and advocating for increased women’s leadership and political participation.

The NEC, through its Gender Section with support from UN Women and funding from Canada, had initiated consultations with key Liberian electoral stakeholders to assess the prevalence of Violence against Women in Elections and Politics, identify its root causes and proposed instruments and guidelines to address Gender equality, women’s leadership and political participation for achieving sustainable development goals (SDGs) by 2030 as they require important progress in the areas as well as building a peaceful society, inclusive institutions and accessible justice for all. This brought about the drafting of a protocol and its accompanying Action plan.

Several representatives in their remarks at the closing ceremony, from the Ministry of Gender, UNDP Elections Project, Embassy of Sweden, UN Women, the Chairperson of the Women Legislative Caucus, Rep. Rossana Shaack, WONGOSOL, CSOs, and the Elections Coordinating Committee (ECC), spoke of the importance of the document and how to further encourage key actors to take the (VAWIE/P) Code of Behavior/Protocol serious.