The Committee for Peace and Development Advocacy (COPDA).
The Committee for Peace and Development Advocacy (COPDA) is an independent local non-governmental organisation established in 1997, right after the elections which ushered into power former Liberian president Charles Taylor. COPDA was formed by a group of Liberians who saw the need to advocate for the protection, respect and promotion of the rights of citizens and the respect for the rule of law. The goal of COPDA is to promote peaceful co-existence within the community through mediation and resolution of community conflicts. COPDA also aims to mobilise resources to address the numerous development needs of the poor in rural communities. One example of an activity in this area is capacity building for grassroots farmers, a project supported by the US-based American Jewish World Service (AJWS).
Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution
COPDA’s ‘Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution’ programme promotes peaceful co-existence within the community through mediation and resolution of community conflicts. In collaborations with judicial actors, specifically the police and courts, as an essential component of this programme, COPDA target other surrounding communities and conduct conflict monitoring activities with the aim of ensuring conflicts are prevented through Early Warning interventions.
COPDA carries out free dispute resolution initiatives at the community level. The aim is to peacefully settle common dispute situations which have the tendency to escalate, degenerate and go beyond control. Local citizens, including target beneficiaries, visit the offices on a daily basis in seeking redress to the many conflicts they find themselves in. COPDA has hired a Paralegal Officer who is directly responsible to mediate and resolve cases and other conflict issues.
Human Rights Programmes
COPDA’s human rights programme is based on measures which seek to inculcate basic human rights principles as enshrined in the Liberian Constitution and international human rights statutes and at the same time, seek avenues for the protection of the rights of every person, irrespective of race, nationality, creed, or sex.
COPDA carries out human rights awareness-raising activities through a number of measures which include REFLECT, School Human Rights Clubs, Radio programme broadcasts, Newsletter publications, workshops, etc. COPDA is engaged in monitoring human rights conditions, conducting fact-finding missions to investigate violations and reporting on Human Rights violations perpetrated by community members and other parties in various parts of Nimba County (Northern Liberia) where COPDA is based.
COPDA’s key areas of intervention over the past year has been undertaking programmes which seek to ensure that the rule of law is promoted and right to due process is respected as a means to promote peace. COPDA’s training and consultations with judicial personnel, the police and other paramilitary personnel have helped to ensure that the human rights of accused and detained persons are respected and the right to due process is respected.
Democratic Leadership Program
The role of local leaders in promoting transparent and accountable leadership has become crucial and important to reducing poverty and promoting democratic reforms. The aim of COPDA’s leadership programme is to build good leaders who will serve the good of the local citizens and build democratic leadership, which will put to practice good governance and tolerance. As a result of the civil war, most local leaders were killed or joined the fighting forces. The vacuum that was created needs to be filled as a new breed of leaders has emerged at the grassroots yearning to assume positions of power. COPDA seeks to work with local leaders at the grassroots community level, training them to inculcate principles of good governance and human rights in an effort to build their capacity to perform. COPDA has established within each community targeted a five-member Community Leadership Forum (CLF).
The Forum comprises prominent citizens of the community who are working directly with local leaders and their citizens. The Forum monitors and reports on human rights and leadership performance. Their role is to advocate for the common good of the community and ensure that the rights of all persons are respected as a means for sustaining peaceful co-existence and democracy.
