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“UN family remains committed to working with the government to end sexual and gender based violence”, says UN Envoy
President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf opens the Ministry of Justice SGBV Unit
Photo: Christopher Herwig, UNMIL
Monrovia, Liberia - At the opening of a sexual and gender-based violent crimes unit at the Ministry of Justice today in Monrovia, President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf emphasized the importance of implementing and enforcing Liberian laws and policies.
“We now need to do what is generally missing in our national experience. We have a constitution that has provisions generally of good quality, as well as statutes and laws that can pass the test of time in protecting Liberians. Our challenge is to move from those instruments to actions; to implement and enforce those laws that we have created,” the President said.
Furthermore, Ms. Johnson Sirleaf stressed that her Government would fully support the unit in its efforts to protect women and girls from the abuse to which they have been unfairly subjected.
In her remarks, the UN Envoy in Liberia, Ellen Margrethe Løj, reiterated the commitment of the UN family in Liberia to support Government programmes that have been designed to put an end to the perpetration of such crimes.
“We have supported these efforts in the past and I want to assure you that we will continue to support Government programmes that are designed to put an end to sexual and gender-based violence,” the Special Representative of the Secretary-General stated.
Commending the Ministry of Justice for taking the initiative to establish the Unit, Ms. Løj expressed the hope that funding would soon be secured to ensure that the recently opened Criminal Court ‘E’ could become functional to deal with cases referred from the new Unit.
In his overview of the SGB violent crimes unit, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Mr. Philip Banks explained that the main objective of the unit was to improve prosecution of SGBV offences with focus on vulnerable women, girls and boys, provide support to victims and their families, enhance public trust, and educate the public on SGBV case management.
Representatives of UN agencies, including UNFPA and UNHCR, as well as a number of international non-government organizations, also pledged their continued support to ensure that the unit was fully operational and to enhance the overall capacity of the Ministry of Justice.
“We now need to do what is generally missing in our national experience. We have a constitution that has provisions generally of good quality, as well as statutes and laws that can pass the test of time in protecting Liberians. Our challenge is to move from those instruments to actions; to implement and enforce those laws that we have created,” the President said.
Furthermore, Ms. Johnson Sirleaf stressed that her Government would fully support the unit in its efforts to protect women and girls from the abuse to which they have been unfairly subjected.
In her remarks, the UN Envoy in Liberia, Ellen Margrethe Løj, reiterated the commitment of the UN family in Liberia to support Government programmes that have been designed to put an end to the perpetration of such crimes.
“We have supported these efforts in the past and I want to assure you that we will continue to support Government programmes that are designed to put an end to sexual and gender-based violence,” the Special Representative of the Secretary-General stated.
Commending the Ministry of Justice for taking the initiative to establish the Unit, Ms. Løj expressed the hope that funding would soon be secured to ensure that the recently opened Criminal Court ‘E’ could become functional to deal with cases referred from the new Unit.
In his overview of the SGB violent crimes unit, Minister of Justice and Attorney General, Mr. Philip Banks explained that the main objective of the unit was to improve prosecution of SGBV offences with focus on vulnerable women, girls and boys, provide support to victims and their families, enhance public trust, and educate the public on SGBV case management.
Representatives of UN agencies, including UNFPA and UNHCR, as well as a number of international non-government organizations, also pledged their continued support to ensure that the unit was fully operational and to enhance the overall capacity of the Ministry of Justice.
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