Monrovia — The National Director of the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission Cllr. J. Augustine Toe is in Abuja, Nigeria, to attend a workshop on "Demand Side of Justice in West Africa."

The workshop which is expected to be held from May 6-7, 2008 is being sponsored by the World Bank.

The World Bank is expected to hold discussions with practitioners on legal and judicial reform in Africa, particularly in the areas of Access to Justice, Criminal Justice and Institutional Strengthening.

The workshop is intended to assist the African region to improve its support to the African region as part of the preparation of a justice strategy for sub-Sahara Africa.

According to the release, the aim of the workshop is to bring together local stakeholders and practitioners, including government officials, academia, civil society organizations, lawyers, traditional authorities and other stakeholders to identify country specific as well as regional needs and priorities in the Justice sector.

It is expected that the workshop will begin a process of developing common indicators which will contribute to the development of a broader strategy for the African region.

Participants would come from Ghana, Gambia, Liberia, Sierra Leone and host Nigeria.

Meanwhile, Cllr. Toe has been requested by the organizers to participate in the session on "Access to Justice" in Liberia and would deliver a paper.