The Carter Center and Government of Sweden Partner to Improve Access to Justice in Liberia

Contact: In Atlanta, Deborah Hakes +1 404 420 5124;
In Monrovia, Pewee Flomoku + 231 (0)886 51 62 32

In December 2013, The Carter Center and the Government of Sweden entered into a partnership through the Embassy of Sweden in Liberia to improve access to justice in Liberia. The Swedish support will amount to approximately 7.5 million USD over a three-year period. The agreement will support the Carter Center's efforts to make justice more accessible for underserved rural populations, including women and youth, and to strengthen community-based dispute resolution for customary leaders.

"We are grateful to the Government of Sweden for continuing to invest in Liberia's future and, in particular, for their support to this project," said Pewee Flomoku, the Carter Center's chief of party in Liberia. "The more that ordinary people experience the protection of the law, the stronger we will be."

Since 2006, The Carter Center has provided civic education on the law to rural citizens. The agreement will help support the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission to provide free legal assistance; provide dispute resolution training for customary leaders, women, and youth; and link the needs of ordinary citizens to national policy making. Programming also is in partnership with Liberia's Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and others.

"Sweden regards the support to equal access to justice an essential part of its overall aim to create conditions that will enable poor people to improve their lives, meanwhile strengthening democratic, equitable, and sustainable development," said Sofia Strand, Ambassador at the Embassy of Sweden in Liberia. "Since the war, the Government of Liberia and the international community have worked hard to strengthen the formal justice and security sectors. My belief is that this assistance will offer continued support to empower men, women, boys and girls in Liberia to obtain justice based on principles of human rights and strengthened gender equality while the reform of the formal system is taking place."

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"Waging Peace. Fighting Disease. Building Hope."
A not-for-profit, nongovernmental organization, The Carter Center has helped to improve life for people in more than 70 countries by resolving conflicts; advancing democracy, human rights, and economic opportunity; preventing diseases; and improving mental health care. The Carter Center was founded in 1982 by former U.S. President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter, in partnership with Emory University, to advance peace and health worldwide.

In Liberia, the Center currently works with the government and people on programs related to access to justice, access to information, and mental health. More information can be found at: www.cartercenter.org/liberia.