This afternoon at 5 pm, the University of Pennsylvania Law School will host a forum to discuss the civil society response to the recently released report and recommendations of the Liberia Trurth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).

The TRC was created to promote national peace, security, unity and reconciliation by investigating gross human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law during Liberia’s armed conflicts from January 1979 to October 14, 2003.  Part of the TRC’s mandate included providing a forum in Liberia and in the Diaspora for both victims and perpetrators of human rights violations to share their experiences as to facilitate genuine healing and reconciliation.

The Forum will feature discussions by Cllr. J. Augustine Toe, the Executive Director of the Justice and Peace Commission (JPC) of the Catholic Diocese in Liberia, Sarah Paoletti, Clinical Supervisor and Lecturer and Director of the Transnational Legal Clinic, University of Pennsylvania Law School, and Sam Togba Slewion, former Secretary General of the Press Union of Liberia (PUL), and Coordinator of the Technical Committee of the Liberia Media Support Initiative (LIMESI).

The forum is being sponsored by the International Human Rights Advocates student-group at the University of Pennsylvania Law School in the Levy Conference Center at 3443 Sansom Street from 5 pm- 6:30 pm. The event is free and open to the general public.

WCI has been working in Liberia on increasing women’s political and grassroots participation in sustainable peace building initiatives since 2008 and has worked with the TRC.  Our program encouraged war affected women to come forward and testify as part of the TRC hearings.  Read more about WCI’s work in Liberia and with the TRC here.