Human Rights Groups Gather in Monrovia to Take Stock of Project Protecting Women Activists as Donor Support Winds Down

KTK Two-day ENSURE reflection meeting hears that threats to human rights defenders are not ending even as project funding does As the ENSURE Project closes this month, Liberian officials, donors and rights advocates gathered in Monrovia with a warning: the threats facing women human rights defenders are outlasting the funding meant to address them. By Patience M. Jones, patiencejones@frontpageafricaonline. com The Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation (KTK) is hosting a two-day reflection meeting at the Cape Hotel on October 22–23, under the theme “From Evidence to Action: Reflecting, Learning, Strengthening Collective Action. ” Opening the meeting, KTK Country Director Korto Williams said it should not be treated as routine.

“This is not business as usual; this is not a workshop,” she said, explaining that while programs and donor support are ending, “the challenges that we face as human rights defenders are not ending. ” Williams said human rights defenders, women’s rights advocates and civil society groups face “increasing pressures and shrinking resources in a rapidly changing environment. ” She described the work as, for many, “a personal commitment and a personal journey” rather than a nine-to-five job. She said she had brought her niece to the meeting so the young woman could understand the realities of Liberian society. The measure of success, she told participants, is whether the project’s results continue to benefit people long after it has ended, and she urged partners to strengthen the systems, partnerships and leadership that will sustain them. She thanked the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), the Embassy of Ireland, civil society partners and human rights defenders for making the work possible. ENSURE was set up to address limited evidence on threats,…