Human rights defenders in Liberia are today marking Human Rights Day (10 December) and the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) is pleased to be celebrating with them.

The Liberia Coalition of Human Rights Defenders (LICHRD) in collaboration with the Independent National Commission on Human Rights (INCHR) and the Ministry of Gender and Development are holding a week-long series of events, to raise awareness of this year’s theme ‘My Voice Counts’.

Human rights defenders in Liberia are today marking Human Rights Day (10 December) and the International Service for Human Rights (ISHR) is pleased to be celebrating with them.

The Liberia Coalition of Human Rights Defenders (LICHRD) in collaboration with the Independent National Commission on Human Rights (INCHR) and the Ministry of Gender and Development are holding a week-long series of events, to raise awareness of this year’s theme ‘My Voice Counts’.

The events, being held in Monrovia, have included the first annual National Human Rights Book Fair, awareness-raising activities through schools and community groups, radio talk shows, and a Human Rights Day parade.

ISHR is supporting this event through distribution of its publications to human rights defenders through a Human Rights Day books and resources event.

Jarwlee Tweh Geegbe, of the LICHRD, says the events are taking place to raise visibility for the human rights issues pursued by the Coalition, international partners and the Independent National Commission on Human Rights. He says the organisers are also leveraging the theme ‘My Voice Counts’ to help break the silence on the problem of child rape in Liberia.

In addition to the LICHRD, INCHR, and the Ministry of Gender and Development, the events around Human Rights Day also count on the involvement of the United States Ambassador to Liberia, the United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Liberia, other UN agencies, government officials, and civil society organisation representatives.

Manager of ISHR’s regional human rights defenders programme, Clement Voulé says ISHR is pleased to be among the international human rights organisations represented at the events, and for the opportunity to support local human rights defenders in their Human Rights Day activities.