Commission and The Grievance & Ethics Committee‐institutions respectively established to
investigate cases of judicial impropriety & corruption and lawyer’s professional misconduct.
45.
Additionally, in April 2010, Liberia held a national conference on access to justice. Based
on the recommendations of a wide range of stakeholders that participated in the conference,
the country has established a committee to develop strategies to improve citizens’ access to
justice, including working with existing customary justice systems that complement the formal
justice system while respecting the human rights obligations of the country.
D.
Right of Persons Deprived of Liberty
46.
To tackle the problems of pre‐trial detention in Liberia, in October 2009 Liberia
convened the Pre‐Trial Detention Taskforce. The Taskforce, which has the participation of all
relevant governmental institutions, has established: the Magistrate Sitting Program, which sits
in the Monrovia Central Prison (MCP) six days a week and process cases of detainees who have
been held longer than the statutory period without trial; the Alternatives to Incarceration Sub‐
Committee was able to launch the Probation program under the Bureau of Corrections at the
Ministry of Justice, in 2012; the Independent Parole Board has also commenced the preliminary
work setting the basis for launching the Parole program expected to take full effect by
November, 2012, which will serve as alternatives to incarceration; the probation and Police‐
Prosecution Coordination Sub‐Committee, which aims to strengthen the collaboration between
police and prosecutors, including knowledge sharing in the area of investigation and evidence
collection.
47.
In order to redress poor prison and detention center conditions throughout the country,
Liberia has allocated additional financial resources for rehabilitation and improvement of
detention centers; constructed and refurbished prison facilities, among others, in Sinoe,
Sanniquelle, Zwedru, Tubmanburg, Cestos & fish Town; initiated literacy and vocational
programs and psychosocial counseling for detainees; as part of the regular curriculum,
institutes human rights training to prison guards and other correctional officers, incorporates
themes such as the right of all detainees�� to be free from torture and cruel, inhumane and
degrading treatment; facilitated prison and detention center monitoring activities of national &
international human rights organizations in Liberia, and launched new interactive public
education programs using mass media to educate citizens on the rights of prisoners. The most
recent intervention is the ongoing initiative by the government and her partners to relocate the
Monrovia Central Prison to Cheesemanburg, as a means of addressing over‐crowding in the
prison. Additionally, more Correction officers are being trained to guide the facilities and
protect the inmates, also there has been a joint training of Corrections officers and inmates in
the manufacturing of hygiene products. A new program, the Mini clinic, has been activated at
some strategic prisons, namely, Kakata, Tubmanburg and the Monrovia Central Prison, to
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