-Resolve Conflicts Outside Courts
Monrovia, Liberia – In a bold step toward fostering peace and advancing grassroots access to justice, the Ministry of Justice (MoJ), through its Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) section, has trained 120 leaders including traditional chiefs, magistrates, police officers, and community representatives from Sinoe and Nimba Counties to serve as professional ADR practitioners.
With funding from Irish Aid and supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the intensive training took place over two three-day sessions in Greenville, Sinoe County, and Ganta, Nimba County, welcoming 60 participants in each region.
The initiative marks a significant chapter in Liberia’s national push to equip local leaders with culturally grounded, fair, and accessible conflict resolution skills. It is part of the broader “Strengthening Rule of Law” program under the UN Joint Rule of Law framework, which empowers state and non-state actors to advance justice and community stability.
The MoJ facilitated the training sessions focusing on Liberia’s dual justice systems and practical dispute resolution techniques tailored for local contexts.
Representing the Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Counsellor N. Oswald Tweh, ADR Director Mr. Gobah A. Anderson emphasized the importance of community-based justice. “Every Liberian, regardless of gender, tribe, or status, deserves access to free, fair, timely, and culturally grounded conflict resolution.”
Mr. Anderson reaffirmed the ministry’s commitment to scaling the ADR program nationwide and championing its passage by the Legislature as part of a national strategy to expand access to justice, ease trial court backlogs, reduce overcrowding in prison facilities, and ensure that it becomes a pillar of community-level justice across Liberia.
“This program empowers community leaders to become effective and efficient in informal dispute mechanisms. We’ve worked hard to formalize ADR within Liberia’s rule of law framework and are hopeful the Act will be passed soon,” Anderson noted.
Topics covered during the workshops included access to justice, the coexistence of customary and statutory legal systems, and practical ADR techniques tailored for local contexts.
Participants are expected to serve as justice ambassadors, bringing transformative skills to local disputes, promoting healing over hostility, transforming conflict-prone areas into communities of peace, and restoring public confidence in local justice.
These leaders will serve as neutral and trusted mediators, promoting peaceful resolution and reducing violence and crime within their communities.
Through their leadership, Liberia moves closer to a future where peace is a norm and justice is shared by all.
The ADR initiative introduces out-of-court settlement options led by trusted community figures such as chiefs, elders, and religious leaders, reinforcing peaceful alternatives to litigation, and empowering them to resolve disputes, including felony cases, at the grassroots level.
The National ADR Act aims to formalize these mechanisms to ease court dockets, reduce prison overcrowding, and empower grassroots mediators.
This multi-stakeholder effort reflects Liberia’s commitment to building an inclusive, culturally responsive justice system rooted in the knowledge and leadership of its people.
