By Precious D. Freeman
The Prison Fellowship Liberia (PFL), in partnership with the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), has officially launched a groundbreaking project aimed at amplifying the voices of young Liberians detained across the country, many of whom lack access to legal representation.
The initiative, code-named “Collecting the Voices of Liberian Youths to Access Justice,” seeks to bridge the justice gap by working with the Ministry of Justice to identify detained youth, gather their stories, and facilitate legal support or conflict resolution mechanisms where necessary.
PFL Country Director Reverend Francis Kollie, announced the launch following a two-day training workshop on human rights monitoring and record management held in Gbarnga, Bong County.
The training, supported by the OHCHR, brought together human rights advocates to strengthen their skills in documentation and intervention on behalf of detainees.
“We are thankful to the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights for sponsoring this timely training,” Rev. Kollie said.
“One of Liberia’s pressing challenges is the alarming number of young people in prison—many of them held for weeks, months, and even years—without legal representation or due process.”
He emphasized that the core objective of the project is to gather firsthand accounts from youths currently in detention and use that information to initiate legal actions or mediation through collaboration with the Ministry of Justice, specifically the Bureau of Corrections.
“This training sets the stage for deploying trained monitors who will visit prisons, collect names, and investigate the circumstances surrounding each detention,” he added.
“Our hope is to either provide legal assistance or mediate cases where conflict resolution is possible.”
The project is part of a broader human rights initiative under the theme: “Enhancing and Protecting Civic Space and People’s Participation.”
It aims not only to secure justice for youth behind bars but also to promote civic inclusion and legal reform.
Rev. Kollie concluded that this effort represents a pivotal step toward restoring hope and justice for many Liberian youths, calling for continued collaboration among civil society, government, and international partners to protect the rights of all citizens, especially the vulnerable.
This initiative comes at a time when calls for reform of Liberia’s pre-trial detention and prison systems are growing louder, with stakeholders emphasizing the need for fair trial guarantees and legal aid for those most at risk.
