The Office of the High Commission of Human Rights (OHCHR) along with the Independent National Commission on Human Rights (INCHR) has embarked on a three-day retreat to evaluate planning strategies within the mandate of the Commission.
Though to date, the Board of Commission (BoC) is yet to be completed as only five members have been appointed and confirmed by the Legislature; something which is a violation of the mandate of that integrity Commission.
With the five commissioners who have begun exhibiting fervor in running the affairs of the Commission, Liberia might be underrated among the Network of African National Human Rights Institutions (NANHRI) if the Commissioners fail to perform due to the overlapping functions as a result of the gap.
The commissioners should be seven and as it stands, the number of members on the Board currently makes up the quorum and by the absence of one member, its judgment is incomplete which should be a challenge that needs to be addressed at that retreat.
Meanwhile, in a presentation on the history of the Commission, the Acting Executive Director, Urias Teh-Pour explained that the mandate has been to examine the Legislature and administrative provisions as well as the bills and proposals that conform to the international human rights standards in order to proffer recommendations as deemed appropriate.
Director Pour further added that the INCHR was created to draw the attention of government to human right violations in any part of the country and make proposals that put an end to situations and where necessary, to express opinions on the actions taken by government in response to said violations.
He outlined that the INCHR is to further promote and ensure the harmonization of national legislation, regulations and practices alongside international human rights instruments to which the Republic of Liberia is a state party and ensure their effective implementation.
He told the new Board of Commissioners as well as partners in human rights activities in the country that the INCHR is also established to encourage the ratification of instruments which the Republic of Liberia has not yet ratified or accession to those instruments and to promote their implementation by the government.
According to the INCHR also mandated Articles 89 of the Constitution of the Republic of Liberia provides for the Legislature to create other agencies as may be necessary, consistent with the INCHR enactment enjoy a constitutional reliance which fulfills the realization of Chapter 111.
He explained that the commission’s mandate also includes unfettered on-site inspection and investigation, if necessary without the prior consent of the concerned authority, including power to visit all civil military and paramilitary places of detention in Liberia as well as making determination referrals and recommendations to the appropriate authorities concerning matter which it has been investigating.
“To submit to the Government, Senate and any other competent body on an advisory basis, either at the request of the authorities concerned or on its own motion opinions recommendations proposals and report on any matters concerning the protection and promotion of human rights,” INCHR’s Acting ED explained.
The INCHR Director also pointed out that this mandate considers complaint and petition concerning human rights violation brought before it by victims, their representatives, and third parties, non- governmental organizations Association of trade unions or any other representative organizations and emphasized “To prepare report on the national situation with regard to human rights in general and on more specific matters.”
Earlier in remarks, the General Secretary of the Civil Society Human Rights Advocacy Platform, Adama Demspter officially welcomed the new commissioners and reminded the participants that the retreat is aimed at putting the Commission back on track.
He said that retreat also allows for engagement and focus on the work from the human rights prospective, so that they do not miss or in any way, go away from the mandate that established the Commission and the functions on Human rights.
“This retreat is held to bring in civil society in to also play that role as partners to help you fulfill your mandate which is to implement the protection of the human rights in country. I want to use this opportunity to encourage us to put human rights first because the Commission is build and established to do human rights work; so anything outside of human rights, then of course, you will miss the mark,” Dempster challenged the commissioners.
While the Chairperson of the National Civil Society Council of Liberia, Loretta Pope Kai emphasized that unity in diversity should be the engine in fulfilling the constitutional and fundamental roles of the Board of Commissioners.
The three-day discussions is expected to focus on updates on national, regional and international treaty obligations and UPR recommendations; national human rights action plan; INCHR CSOs collaboration; Paris Principles and building a strong and effective NHRI; working of secretariat; financial status, administrative structure and staffing; operational mandate, monitoring mechanisms and complaint handling procedures, case statics and reporting mechanisms; and training mechanisms and procedure, information management and dissemination, educational materials and programs.
The discussions on the challenges and lessons learnt will also be directed at legislative support procedures, law reforms, enactment engagement mechanism, engagement with treaty matters and GoL treaty obligations; program planning strategy and procedure, strategic plan and M & E processes, engagement with different INCHR departments and relevant partners; among others.
The INCHR which was created out of the need to address human rights abuses and violation in Liberia was established and place under the executive branch of Government through an act of the Legislature since August 2005.
The Commission became operational in September 2010 when seven out of 15 qualified Liberians were nominated by the public and appointed by former President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and confirmed by the Liberian Senate to serve as Commissioners.