Across the world, the outbreak of COVID-19 has created unprecedented challenges for RRI members and their communities. In many cases though, it has also led to opportunities for empowering local communities. This was the case for Social Entrepreneurs for Sustainable Development (SESDev), a Liberian non-profit that works on natural resource governance rights.
The work to address the longstanding issue of insecurity around land does not end with legislation. Liberia’s citizens will not gain from the protections of the LRA without implementation. Nor can the government go it alone: given their proximity to communities, history of advocacy on behalf of marginalized groups, and their familiarity with the government’s platform under the new law, civil society organizations are ideal partners for implementation.
On September 19, Liberian President George Manneh Weah signed into law the Land Rights Bill (LRB), a landmark piece of legislation that recognizes the rights of Indigenous Peoples and local communities to their customary lands and gives customary land the same standing as private land in Liberia. This historic victory sets a precedent for land rights recognition in West Africa and can serve as a model for the region and beyond.
Civil society organizations and communities affected by oil palm concessions across Liberia have grouped themselves in addressing urgent issues in the oil palm sector, demanding more access to mechanisms that can make concessionaires more accountable in line with laws and regulations.
Given that the 1989-2003 civil wars were in part driven by disputes over land and resources, observers are worried what the future holds as a UN peacekeeping mission prepares to leave Liberia in March.
In Liberia, the promise of Africa’s first female president has fallen short: across the country, community and rural women have been cut off from the decision-making processes that affect them. Many are losing the lands and resources they rely on.
Mr. Alfred Brownell, a campaigner for the land rights of Liberia’s local communities, and his staff at Green Advocates have gone underground after threats from the police. This is the latest in a long history of threats, intimidation, and harassment against human rights defenders in Liberia.
Depending on the season, the journey to Rivercess County requires either bumping along dirt paths or navigating endless stretches of mud. In the heart of…
Civil society groups want 2014 bill passed before August recess, claiming land grabs have ‘turned citizens into refugees in their own country’ Liberia could be…
Held captive for two years in a legislature now in crisis over accusations of corruption, Land Rights Act to secure local peoples’ rights to their…
Add your voice by signing the petition below. From the Civil Society Organizations Working Group on Land Rights in Liberia: We, the Civil Society Organizations (CSO)…
Since 2009, the Sustainable Development Institute (SDI), a civil society organization based in Monrovia, Liberia, has collaborated with RRI to support local communities in securing…
Monrovia – A group of rural and urban poor women under the banner of the ‘Natural Resource Women Platform’ has catalogued abuses and untold suffering…
Sinoe County — With his yellow long shelves shirt, clear glasses, and baggy shorts, Roosevelt Deedo wears the uniform of Liberia’s urban residents unlike…
We asked women from across Africa what secure land rights mean for them, their communities, and their countries. Here’s what they had to say:
As seen on Mongabay 11th August 2015 / Sara Jerving Palm oil production companies maintain palm oil expansion will bring good jobs to Liberia, but critics say…
As seen on The Guardian Holly Watt Thursday, 23 July 2015 Campaign group urges Golden Veroleum Liberia to renegotiate deals in which communities panic-stricken by…
The report ‘Hollow Promises: An FPIC assessment of Golden Veroleum and Golden Agri-Resource’s palm oil project in Liberia’ reveals how the companies have caused community…
As seen on Mongabay The rights of local and indigenous peoples aren’t being adequately protected in the drive for economic development, according to a report…
As seen on RTCC By Ed King A planned new global climate change deal must recognise land and resource rights in order to protect vulnerable forest…
As seen on Mongabay Liz Kimbrough, mongabay.com correspondent Throughout the tropics, staggering amounts of land have been designated for natural resource extraction—as much as 40…
As seen on Friends of the Earth Two weeks ago, we asked Friends of the Earth members to sign a petition asking British palm oil…
As seen on the New Internationalist From 6 to 8 May, agribusiness corporations courted African governments at the Grow Africa Investment Forum in Abuja, Nigeria,…
As seen on Reuters YAOUNDE (Thomson Reuters Foundation) – Elizabeth Maimo, a 52-year-old farmer in Santa in Cameroon’s Northwest Region, has struggled since custom dictated she…