Promises to Reintroduce Pro Bono Legal Aid Program
Monrovia, Liberia – The Pro Bono Legal Aid program, which serves prisoners in Monrovia Central Prison, has been reintroduced by the Liberia National Bar Association (LNBA) with money from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Targeting legal aid attorneys and caseworkers, the training is part of the initiative “Promoting Access to Justice through Pro Bono Legal Aid Representation.” The aim of the project is to decongest the Monrovia Central Prison in Montserrado and Margibi Counties.
Cllr Sylvester D. Rennie, speaking on Wednesday, September 25, 2024, at the LNBA Headquarters in Monrovia, stated that the Bar has obtained more than US$121,000 from the UNDP to support the initiative for a year. The Bar President explained that one of the goals of the legal aid clinics is to give pretrial inmates legal representation.
According to Cllr. Rennie, the bar will offer services in the areas of family law, domestic abuse law, land-related concerns, mediation, and litigation for conflicts involving landlords and tenants. He claims that a process document regarding decongesting the Central Prison of pretrial inmates that was submitted to the UNDP is what gave rise to the initiative.
“As a Bar, we are thrilled to embark on this adventure with the trust that the UNDP has placed in us.”
According to Cllr. Rennie, the LNBA has launched a new project via a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signed between the Bar and the National Election Commission (NEC). The President of the LNBA explained that the initiative aimed to enhance the legal knowledge and abilities of attorneys handling cases before the NEC and the Supreme Court, as well as those of security personnel, media, and local residents.
“UNDP chose to grant us another program that would allow the Bar to improve the Rule of Law program because of the sort of work the Bar conducted.”
Cllr. Rannie stated, “Today is the official start of our participants’ training, which will include caseworkers and lawyers who will be involved in the process.”
Over the course of a year, he stated, the Legal Aid employees want to free two hundred pretrial inmates. As the initiative is only available in Montserrado County, the President of the LNBA said that the Bar is pushing the UNDP to expand it to other counties.
In order to allow attorneys and caseworkers to visit the jail to help with overcrowding, Cllr. Rannie announced that the Legal Aid Clinic will now be formally available to the public.
Reported by: Prince Saah
Contact: +231778239813
Email: saahprince119@gmail.com
