By Elbie Sebleh
MONROVIA: The United Nations Women, in partnership with the National Bureau of Concessions (NBC) has launched a transformative project titled “Enhancing Peace and Social Cohesion through the Promotion of Equitable Access to and Use of Land for Rural Women in Conflict-prone Communities and Concession Areas”.
The three-year initiative, generously funded by the Peacebuilding Fund with US$ 3.5 million, aims to support the Government’s endeavors in mitigating conflicts, promoting harmonious co-existence, and ensuring fair access to land for rural women in Liberia.
The project’s core objectives include empowering women by providing them with the necessary tools, voice, and mechanisms to combat the persistent marginalization they have been facing in land governance.
Additionally, it strives to hold companies accountable by advocating for heightened human rights due diligence and promoting the Women Empowerment Principles (WEPs) to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment in businesses operating in concession areas.
A pivotal aspect of this initiative, according to partners, is the organization of knowledge exchange visits to neighboring countries, with Ghana being the first stop.
The visit was designed to facilitate learning from successful practices in Ghana and to identify strategies that can be implemented in Liberia to strengthen concession-community relations and promote gender mainstreaming in concession contracts.
Representatives from concession-affected communities, concession companies, and relevant government authorities will partake in high-level meetings with Ghanaian ministries and agencies involved in concession activities, visiting key concessions and surrounding communities to gain insights on community engagement, gender mainstreaming, corporate social responsibility, conflict resolution mechanisms, and alternative livelihood interventions.
The a Liberian delegation who visited Ghana for 11days acknowledged a crucial step in the journey towards sustainable peace, gender equality, and community development in Liberia’s concession areas.
Through shared knowledge and collaborative efforts, the project spearheaded by UN Women is poised to make a significant impact in transforming land governance practices and fostering peaceful coexistence in conflict-prone regions.
Remarking the arrival ceremony, Sylvester Nyamana, Accelor Mittal-Liberia community member in Nimba County said that during their visit to Ghana, they were opportune to visit the Benzo oil company and Ashanti Gold company where they learned from administrators that during disputes with the community members, a round table discussion and implementation is how they resolve conflicts.
He furthered that now they are back home to their various communities, capacity building along with youths and elders will educate them more on how to solve conflicts with the concession companies whenever they are affected.
On the other hand, representatives from the Grand Cape Mount County based Bea Mountain Community, Mairriama Konneh added that the authorities from the visited companies educate them that constant protests always scare investors away, therefore there have been no proper resolve issues through protest.
For his part, the Director General of NBC, Edwin Dennis thanked the UN women for the initiative; adding that they look forward to more impact in the project.
