Liberia’s model of grassroots, trust-based peacebuilding drew international attention recently as Trokon Redem McGee, Executive Director of Talking Drum Studio: Liberia Peace Center (TDS Liberia), addressed a high-level panel during the 2025 Geneva Peace Week.
McGee joined global experts at a flagship event titled “From Risk to Resilience: Embedding Human Rights Due Diligence in Peacebuilding,” organized by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The session examined how Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) can move beyond technical compliance to become a powerful tool for conflict prevention and community resilience.
The panel featured speakers from top international institutions, including Adam Day of the United Nations University Center for Policy Research (UNU-CPR), Sara Ferro Ribeiro of IOM, and Ulrich Garms of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), alongside McGee. The discussion was held under the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform and supported by IOM Geneva, with IOM Liberia sponsoring the Liberian delegation.
Speaking from the perspective of civil society in a post-conflict nation, McGee emphasized the deep connection between human rights, inclusion, and sustainable peace.
“Liberia’s journey has shown that peace cannot endure where citizens feel excluded from decisions that shape their lives,” McGee told the international audience. “Our work focuses on rebuilding trust—creating space for community voices, especially those historically marginalized, to participate in shaping their own future. In this way, HRDD becomes not just a safeguard, but a strategy for resilience.”
IOM’s Sara Ferro Ribeiro echoed the urgency of integrating HRDD into peacebuilding practice from the ground up.
“When human rights due diligence is fully integrated into peacebuilding, it strengthens institutional credibility and community trust,” she said. “We’ve learned from the field that HRDD is essential for preventing harm before crises erupt.”
The panel highlighted that for countries like Liberia, emerging from years of conflict, HRDD is not simply a bureaucratic framework but a pillar of inclusive governance and long-term peace. McGee’s remarks spotlighted Liberia as a case study in how local leadership and civil society engagement can drive transformative peace efforts.
As global peacebuilders explore new frameworks for resilience in fragile contexts, Liberia’s grassroots approach—grounded in trust, participation, and rights—offered a powerful example.
