Liberia: GOL Should Come Clear On Demonstrations

A joint statement of the Ambassadors of ECOWAS, the European Union, the United States, and the UN Resident Coordinator in Liberia issued here over the weekend on Liberia's National Discourse in the New Year following the 06 January peaceful assemble on Capitol Hill stresses the need for the Government of Liberia to urgently clarify a comprehensive notification or application process for large demonstrations, including what qualifies as individual, small, or large group protests, timelines, permissible locations, restrictions on what can be brought to events, etc.

The joint statement notes that multiple recent requests by large citizen groups in the country seeking to demonstrate in central Monrovia underscore the need for such direct clarity from the government, it emphasizes that transparent notification or application procedures for permits to hold large demonstrations, coupled with apolitical and content-neutral adjudications of said applications, can ensure that future events, which are normal and healthy in a democracy, efficiently allow protestors to gather, express grievances, and present petitions to the government.

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