• UNMIL Human Rights Chief Calls for Mass Investment in Liberian Youths, Sources: INSIGHT and The INQUIRER

• NEC Board Hears LP/UP’s Appeal, Source: The INQUIRER
• ECOWAS Weary of Violations of Arms Treaties, Source: Daily OBSERVER
• 2.1 Million Voters Unrealistic – Ex-NEC Official Claims, Source: New DEMOCRAT
• 2 Liberty Party executives resign, Source: Daily OBSERVER and INSIGHT
• UWUL warned against violent advocacy, Source: Daily OBSERVER
• Small Arms Prevention –ECOWAS Holds Two-Day Capacity Building Training Workshop, Source: FrontPage Africa
• Abide by Ethics of Profession –NATJL President Tells Colleagues, Source: FrontPage Africa
• Change or Chance - the Ludo-Playing of George Weah - the Best from Him, Source: The Perspective

UNMIL Human Rights Chief Calls for Mass Investment in Liberian Youths, Sources: INSIGHT and The INQUIRER

Speaking Sunday at the closing ceremony of a four-day youth capacity-building and leadership training in Paynesville organized by the Better Future Foundation (BFF), a proponent of Liberia Democracy Sustainability Platform (LDSP) and its umbrella organization, Youth Beyond Barriers (YBB), the Chief Human Rights & Protection Service, UNMIL and Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Liberia, Mr. Marcel Akpovo encouraged Liberian youths and students to know their rights and responsibilities and to adhere to the rule of law at all time.

Mr. Akpovo also cautioned the youths to speak out on violation of the rights of others in the society and to recognize, protect, and promote human rights and fundamental liberties. He added that the future of the Liberian nation would not benefit its youths and students when the country is built on injustice, discrimination, favoritism, and other vices with the potential to retard national progress and undermine its peace and stability.

The UN human rights expert further encouraged the participants to subscribe to service for the good of others at all strata of the Liberian society and beyond; and to get involved in acts and programs that promote accountability, transparency, probity, social justice, human dignity, peace, democracy, and development. Akpovo indicated that Liberia now has the perfect opportunity to massively invest in its youthful population as the country sails from a post-conflict state to a democratically entrenched nation.

NEC Board Hears LP/UP’s Appeal, Source: The INQUIRER

The Board of Commissioners of the National Elections Commission (NEC) is expected to hear an appeal by the ruling Unity Party (UP) and the opposition Liberty Party (LP) that was announced recently before the commission's chief hearing officer, this paper reports.

Recently, the NEC hearing officer dismissed allegations brought against the electoral commission by several aggrieved political parties led by the LP alleging fraud and irregularities during the 10 October elections for which they are seeking a rerun or cancellation of the process.

ECOWAS Weary of Violations of Arms Treaties, Source: Daily OBSERVER

Speaking in Monrovia at the opening of a two-day capacity building training on the exemption procedure on the provision of the ECOWAS Convention, ECOWAS Ambassador to Liberia, Babatunde Ajisomo highlighted the danger of the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the sub-region. Ambassador Ajisomo said some member states have been violating some of the arms treaties which he noted was worrisome. Read more

2.1 Million Voters Unrealistic – Ex-NEC Official Claims, Source: New DEMOCRAT

An ex-official of the National Elections Commission (NEC) who recently called for the resignation of the chairman for ‘incompetence’ has declared that the 21 million of the country’s population registered by the commission does not represent the actual voters of the country, this paper reports. In an interview, Josiah Joekai, a former special assistant to the NEC chairman Jerome Korkoya said as a means of conducting a credible election, Korkoya should be replaced by Commissioners Jonathan Weedor or Jeanette Ebba-Davidson who according to him are the longest-serving and most knowledgeable commissioners currently serving on the NEC Board of Commissioners. "They are capable of presiding over the conduct of a runoff election that will be deemed credible,” Mr. Joekai said.

The former NEC official said the creation of a separate roll that can only be accessed through a Short Message System (SMS) managed and operated by the NEC alone was the basis for serious confusion during the 10 October elections. Joekai said there were many voters whose particulars were confirmed using the SMS but omitted from the Final Registration Roll (FRR) as experienced on Election Day. This situation again he added, contributed to illegal voting as some voters in this category were allowed to vote but with their names written on addenda.

He added that one could imagine in the rural areas where illiterate voters did not have access to the technology to verify their particulars, they were prevented from exercising their democratic franchise.

2 Liberty Party executives resign, Source: Daily OBSERVER and INSIGHT

Reports say an executive of the opposition Liberty Party (LP), Maxwell Grisgby II, has resigned from the party, a day after another executive and former party chairman Israel Akinsanya tendered in his resignation. Mr. Grisgby did not give a reason for his decision but reports say he is weary of the ongoing legal rigmarole between the LP and the National Elections Commission (NEC). The LP filed a lawsuit to the Supreme Court a month ago in protest of alleged election irregularities and fraud in the October 10 elections. Read more

UWUL warned against violent advocacy, Source: Daily OBSERVER

Speaking recently at the induction ceremony of the newly elected officials of the United Workers Union of Liberia (UWUL) at the Mano River Resource and Aureus Mining in Grand Cape Mount County, assistant labor minister for trade union affairs, Emmett Crayton called on the officials to see themselves as servants of the people they represent and to seek their interest. Also speaking for the company’s community and governmental affairs manager, Sando Wayne hailed the workers for coming together to form a union. Read more

Small Arms Prevention –ECOWAS Holds Two-Day Capacity Building Training Workshop, Source: FrontPage Africa

A two-day capacity building training on the exemption procedures based on the provisions of ECOWAS Convention on Small Arms and Light Weapons is being held at the Defense Ministry in Monrovia. The training brought together security officers from the Liberia National Police (LNP), Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA), Liberia Immigration Service (LIS), and other paramilitary services along with representatives from ECOWAS.

Speaking Wednesday at the start of the training, the chairman of the Liberia National Commission on Small Arms (LiNCSA), James Fromayan stressed the importance of the training and said it was important to have mechanisms in place to stop the proliferation of small arms and light weapons in the sub-region. Mr. Fromayan said the training would help various paramilitary services in strengthening their capacity on combating small arms and light weapons in the country. He, however, called on participants to take the training seriously in order to impact their various institutions.

ECOWAS Ambassador to Liberia Babatunde Ajisomo said whether import or export, the proliferation of small arms and light weapons is dangerous to the Sub-region. “We know how small arms and the light weapon had destabilized our Sub-region,” Ambassador Ajisomo said.  Read more

Abide by Ethics of Profession –NATJL President Tells Colleagues, Source: FrontPage Africa

There have been reports linking judges in Liberia to corruption; something the president of National Association of Trial Judges of Liberia (NATJL) said is due to failure of Liberian judges to uphold the ethics of the profession. Judge Roosevelt Willie said if the ethics are upheld, bad perceptions will be changed.

Judge Willie made the remarks when he disclosed that the association’s application for membership into the International Association of Judges (IAJ) has been accepted.

“Now we are a member of the association. We judges must be careful with our attitudes because the body is watching us and our activities. We should do our best to handle cases effectively and efficiently,” the NATJL president said. Read more

INTERNATIONAL MEDIA ON LIBERIA

Change or Chance - the Ludo-Playing of George Weah - the Best from Him, Source: The Perspective

Indications are rife that a George Weah ‘s ascendency to the summit of state will be a colossal nightmare and catastrophic faux pas, as he is a conspicuous contradiction to everything leadership represents in this current approach of globalization. The CDC project will stagnate us in the cesspool of political sclerosis and the cul-de-sac of economic profligacy gleamed on the world like the mene tekel upharsin of Belshazzar.

Whether the colonized acolytes of the Coalition for Desperate Crooks like it or not, on the one hand, the shibboleth of change is perfunctory, on the other hand; it is a jingo that is only in the periphery, falling short of addressing the structural imbalances in the state. Evidently, the festering contradiction in the Coalition, especially the faces of change, makes the entire change narrative a façade. In order to make the change mantra a relevant issue for discourse, internal hygiene needs to be ignited in the rank and file of the Coalition, or else everything about change is nothing but a conditional reflex. Read more