OUR MISSION
To enable and facilitate the development of mechanisms for cooperation among civil society-based peacebuilding practitioners and organizations in Liberia by providing cooperative responses to violent conflicts; providing structure through which these practitioners and institutions can regularly share experiences and information on peacebuilding, conflict transformation, social, ethnoreligious and political reconciliation, and tolerance; and promoting cultural values as resources for peacebuilding.
OUR VISSION
A Liberia region characterized by just and peaceful communities where the dignity of the human person is paramount and where the people can meet their basic human needs and decide their own direction.”
OUR GOAL
To build sustainable peaceful coexistence amongst all the various sectors and groups of the Liberian community; thereby creating an enabling environment for national growth and development.
The objectives of WANEP-Liberia shall be as follows:
- Help improve and promote healthy collaboration, cooperation and coordination among members involved with justice, peace, democracy and development work;
- Build the capacities of members and strengthen local structures at both community and national levels to work for peace, human rights and development;
- Mobilize resources for the promotion of sustainable peace and development initiatives in Liberia;
- Provide other related organizations greater access to information on peace, human security, and development practices;
- Help enhance the capacity of network members and other practitioners for Institutional and capacity-building initiatives for conflict prevention, mitigation, and transformation;
- Increase awareness and use of non-violent strategies as a pro-active response to conflicts in order to avoid violence at all levels within the Liberian society;
- Ensure at least 30% of women-led organizations to participate in the development and implementation of peacebuilding, human rights, and development programs;
Programs and Expertise:
WANEP-Liberia manages four core programs through which its goal, to build sustainable peaceful coexistence amongst all the various sectors and groups of the Liberian community; thereby creating an enabling environment for national growth and development. These programs include: (1) WIPNET – The WIPNET program provides skills in leadership, skills training for economic and social empowerment, conducts awareness on the UNSCR 1325 and the National Action Plan and strives to end sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV); engages in advocacy for policy and law reforms that ensure women peace and security;
WANEP-Liberia’s experience in advocacy initiatives and awareness creation through its WIPNET Program (peace hut structures), social mobilization on domestic violence, SGBV, SRHRs and other harmful practices, for the past ten years revealed that the involvement of men is crucial to the success of such initiatives, thus justifying the inclusion of male networks in the general advocacy initiatives. The WIPNET peace huts which were established as an innovative strategy to sustain Liberian women advocacy remains a “first responder” to SGBV in several communities across the country.
WANEP’s program approach is rooted in communities with the bottom-up approach bearing in mind community ownership.
WIPNET has now several peace huts across Liberia and has worked in collaboration with UN Women, with one of which being the “Rural Women Business Development Skills/Conflict Transformation & Gender Based Violence Reduction for Holistic Peacebuilding” Engaging Traditional, Religious, Communities, Educational Institutions and Relevant Stakeholders in the Prevention and Response to SGBV and Harmful Traditional Practices” for the sole purpose of strengthening peace huts engagement with communities.
(2) The Conflict Prevention Program is engaged with Peace Education, National Early Warning, conflict monitoring, data collection and analysis and reporting. This program is linked to the ECOWAS Waning and Response Network portal (ECOWARN) and the African Union Continental Early Warning System (CEWS) under the Protocols Relating to the Mechanism for Conflict Prevention, Management, Resolution, Peace-Keeping and Security in West Africa and the African Peace and Security Architecture (APSA) of the African Union. Other programs include Capacity Building Program and the Governance and Human Rights Programs respectively.
General Organizational Capability:
- Strength in working with CSOs networks and coalitions and conducting successful and standard trainings on designing, implementation, and monitoring of programs on EVAW and Women and Girls SRHRs;
- Record and evidence on advocacy and lobbying for change in laws and policies that affect women and girls;
- A little over 10,000 community members from across the 15 sub political divisions of Liberia have acquired skills and knowledge in conflict prevention, management and mitigation, early warning, advocacy, human rights, community peacebuilding, small business development and elections monitoring through the WANEP’s intervention in Liberia;
- Record and evidence of organizational culture of accountability, such as a written code of conduct, measures on anti-corruption and sexual harassment policy;
- A team of experienced conflict analysts, peacebuilding practitioners and gender advocates with several years of work experiences in providing training and mentoring for community dwellers as indicated above.
- A track record of delivering quality and timely project results.
A survivor will run to the nearest WIPNET peace hut when an incidence of SGBV occurs. The Peace Hut remains a safe place for women and girls to learn about their rights, the referral pathway, mediation and conflict resolution. WIPNET women and the WANEP staff have benefitted from local and international trainings and have worked in communities throughout Liberia.