Monrovia — The National Director of the National Commission for Justice, Peace and Caritas (NCJPC) Rev. Fr. McDonald W. Nah is calling on the government to pass the drug law and place a ban on illicit drugs something he says is on the increase among young people in the country.
The National Commission for Justice, Peace, and Caritas (NCJPC), is the human rights, development and relief arm of the Catholic Bishop Conference of Liberia (CABICOL).
The NCJPC formerly comprised the Catholic Justice and Peace Commission (JPC) and Caritas. These two departments of the church in 2017 merged to form the NCJPC.
Rev. Nah made disclosed to journalists when he presented the report that covers activities of the JPC and Caritas in the Archdiocese of Monrovia, the Diocese of Gbarnga, and the Diocese of Harper.
The semi-annual report covers initiatives of the Catholic Church in Liberia and the present socio-economic situation, from January 2022 to July 2022.
Speaking at the Head Office on Old Road, the National Director of the National Commission for Justice, Peace and Caritas said from the semi-annual report, the increase of drugs is the cause of the high crime rate in the country.
According to him, throughout our interventions in various communities across the country, we can safely conclude that the communities and families are overwhelmed with the effects of the sale and use of narcotics and other illicit drugs.
"We urgently appeal and urge policymakers and the Government to consider the passage of the drug law act and the total ban of the sale of narcotics and other illicit drugs. This issue is a national emergency, Rev. Nah said.
"There are people in the community that experience the use of drugs every day. They have told us the story that they cannot walk in the night and even broad day sometimes the young folks will attack them of the aim to get money to buy drugs," Rev. Nah sad.
He added: "If we don't as a country, see it as an emergency, we are going to have a problem. As a church, we see it as an emergency because we worked in these communities and we now talk with people and we know the things they are going through. We know how their families are feeling."
