Community and Detainee Reconciliation in Liberian Localities (C-DRILL)

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Name of Organization: East-West Management Institute, in partnership with Prison Fellowships Liberia, funded by USAID

Project Title: Community and Detainee Reconciliation in Liberian Localities (C-DRILL)

Project Locations: Liberian counties of Montserrado, Margibi, Bong, and Grand Bassa

Project Duration: January 1, 2010 - August 31, 2011

What are some of the key challenges facing the Liberian judicial system? How does the C-DRILL program attempt to address these issue areas?

After 14 years of civil war, Liberia faces many challenges in establishing a peaceful society. These challenges include the prevalence of mob justice, the propensity of citizens to accuse each other of criminal misconduct over relatively minor disputes, overcrowding in prisons, and detainees being held without trial beyond the legally permitted period.  As a result, trust in the rule of law has weakened and resentment towards the government and within communities has grown.

What was EWMI's approach towards dealing with Liberia's weak judicial structure and the prevalance of mob justice? What was the rationale and justification for creating the project?

To help mitigate potential conflicts, the East-West Management Institute (EWMI), in partnership with Prison Fellowships Liberia (PFL), implemented the Community and Detainee Reconciliation in Liberian Localities (C-DRILL) Program. This community outreach and mediation program, funded by USAID, educated community leaders and the public on the benefits of mediation to mitigate conflicts, provided mediation services to community members and pre-trial detainees, and used mediation to address the overuse of extended pre-trial detention in the country. The project encouraged Liberians to address the root causes of conflict in the community before a dispute became violent or before an individual was arrested and placed in extended pre-trial detention. This approach was effective because it provided an alternative to violence and detention by resolving conflicts through a focus on rebuilding trust within the community and institutions.

Can you walk us through the implementation stages of the project?

Activity 1:  Laying the Groundwork with Mediator Trainings & Educational Materials

In the beginning stages of the project, Laurie Cooper, EWMI's Conflict Mitigation Advisor, trained 24 PFL staff members as community mediators during a six-day workshop that focused on detainee support, case management, community outreach, and mediation techniques.  Additional mediator trainings were led by the Paralegal Advisory Service on understanding the legal issues associated with pretrial detainee advocacy and with the Transnational Human Rights Program on case reporting. Midway through the project, Ms. Cooper conducted a five-day refresher training on mediation techniques, drawing on the mediators' experience in the field after one year. In addition to mediation, participants learned about negotiation behavior, meeting facilitation, and enhanced case reporting techniques.

As an additional reinforcement of the training, Ms. Cooper created a mediation manual for the mediators to reference.  She also developed a comic book on peaceful dispute resolution titled Kuku Jumuku: If You Not Inside You Not Know which mediators used to explain mediation at the community outreach meetings.

Activity 2:  Developing Trust and Engagement through Community Outreach Meetings

In order to engage the community and to build awareness of PFL's mediation program, PFL hosted ten Community Outreach Meetings between the four counties.  An average of 100 participants attended each meeting, including community members and leaders, police officers, former detainees, local NGOs, local government officials and judicial actors.  These meetings engaged the participants in discussions on the role of community dispute resolution, the challenges of pre-trial detention, and Liberia's emergence from conflict-style governance.  PFL then introduced the community members to the resources available to assist with the peaceful resolution of their disputes, including community mediation.  The meetings were well-received and benefited from enthusiastic participation from all who attended.

Activity 3: Awareness Raising Sessions

The Awareness Raising sessions were not originally a part of the EWMI/PFL proposal or work plan, yet these sessions proved to be the means by which PFL reached the largest number of community members.  PFL mediators themselves created this aspect of the project in order to further increase awareness within their communities of the potential use of mediation as a means to settle disputes. Twice each week, PFL teams traveled to local markets, schools and community/town hall gatherings and gave short presentations on PFL, basic methods on how to resolve disputes, and information on where PFL staff could be reached. It is important to note that PFL tailored their presentations to the audience (adults, students, literate and non literate populations), and that the mediators spent 15-20 minutes answering questions. Throughout the term of the project, PFL mediators reached out to some 20,180 men and 19,916 women through these awareness raising sessions.

Activity 4:  Community Mediations

Citizens who needed assistance with a conflict visited the regional PFL offices where PFL staff determined if the conflict was appropriate for a formal mediation session.  The subject of the disputes ranged from job site problems to domestic disputes and child support issues. Although an original goal of the program was that mediators also address land disputes, Ms. Cooper found that the issue of land dispute resolution was complex and could pose challenges for mediators without a legal background and a strong understanding of the geographic area. Instead, PFL tended to refer land dispute issues to the Norwegian Refugee Council through its facilities in Bong and Margibi Counties.

Activity 5:  Release and Reintegration of Pretrial Detainees

Between March 2010 and August 2011, the PFL mediators provided services to 2,428 pretrial detainees. Services to pretrial detainees included a preliminary intake consultation to determine the nature of the charge, assessment of time already spent in detention, health status, and justification for further PFL support.  Mediators also set up meetings with local judicial personnel and with the complainants on behalf of the detainee in order to facilitate their release. Upon release, mediators notified community leaders and law enforcement agents of the detainees' presence and asked these parties to explain to the rest of the community that the detainees had been released in compliance with the law. This is important in light of the perception of many Liberians that prisoners have used bribery to gain their release.

One of the challenges that PFL faced in this context was limited logistical support. Frequently, the released detainee would return to the community with no job and nowhere to live, and would rely on PFL for extended support.

Assessing the project's accomplishments, what would you say were some of the project's greatest impacts?

-As a result of the mediation training, 25 PFL mediators were trained in conflict resolution/mitigation (including 12 women).

-744 participants attended the trainings facilitated by PFL on understanding and strengthening conflict mitigation.

-PRL mediators presented to over 40,096 people (20,180 Males and 19,916 Females) during the informal awareness-raising sessions (i.e., in schools, markets and other large gathering places).

-The mediators achieved an impact in their communities by conducting 192 mediations and 126 reintegrations. The mediators also provided assistance to 2,428 pretrial detainees. This had an effect of reducing community violence, relieving pressure on the courts, and achieving the overall goal of the decreasing the number of pre-trial detainees.

One unexpected, and perhaps the most important result, was the increased capacity of PFL as a strong voice for the rights of detainees in Liberia. Implementing C-DRILL facilitated and strengthened PFL's connection with the Ministry of Justice and helped to build a talented pool of advocates for access to justice and rule of law.  C-DRILL also contributed to bolstering the institutional capacity of PFL and supported PFL in the development of two new activities - the creation of a halfway house for nonviolent offenders and a juvenile justice monitoring project. 

What lessons did you learn from this project? What recommendations can you offer to other individuals and/or organizations seeking to address this problem in Liberia or other regions of the world?

Overall, EWMI is very pleased with the outcome of the project.  Through this experience, we learned that the way to decrease the number of pre-trial detainees is inexorably linked to public outreach and education, and to providing alternative means of resolving disputes.

For extending C-DRILL, or to expand upon similar projects, we would suggest additional training for mediators:

-In mediation techniques to further develop their skills;

-In legal disputes in order to expand the range of topics they are qualified to mediate;

-In training other mediators in order to expand the reach and impact of the program.

Mediators could also benefit from peer practice sessions where they would meet to exchange information and experiences to learn from each other's skills and knowledge. 

Finally, EWMI would recommend that a future project integrate mediation into existing judicial infrastructure and procedures.