IPNEWS: The Association of Female Lawyers of Liberia (AFELL) and partners on Friday, July 14, 2023, validated the Human Rights Advocacy Strategy on Gender-Based Violence (GBV) prevention and response in Liberia.

The document will eventually serve as a tool to aid AFELL’s intervention in strategically responding to gender-based violence and other related violations that limit the full enjoyment of the rights of women, children, the elderly, and other vulnerable groups in Liberia.

Giving the overview of the validation session, AFELL Vice President, Atty. Bowoulo T. Kelley said the document seeks to ensure holistic advocacy that encompasses the protection of women, girls, and marginalized groups from all forms of violence, reinforce legal mechanisms that will protect women and girls and ensure accountability for gender-based violence that continue unabated in this jurisdiction.

According to Atty. Kelley, the strategy focuses on advocacy with relevant stakeholders including the three branches of government, nongovernmental organizations, community leaders, women, and youth leaders respectively.

“AFELL takes cognizance of its mandate and the legitimacy in advocating for the rights of the most vulnerable in society based on our loyalty to principle, especially on the universality of rights: we condemned and push for accountability on violations no matter who is involved, independence and impartiality as a nongovernmental organization having no political alignment and in our professional capacity as qualified women lawyers that are well equipped to ensure equal rights for all through adequate legal representation,” she said.

There were a series of deliberations during the validation ceremony ranging from enhancing participants understanding of the roles, the mandate of the OHCHR and Spotlight Initiative, participants gaining knowledge and understanding of Human Rights Advocacy strategy on GBV prevention and response, helping participants to understand how to conduct advocacy while engaging stakeholders to obtain desired results among others.

The Human Rights Advocacy Strategy has been developed with financial and technical support from Spotlight Initiative through the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).