Human rights have been made a cross-cutting theme underpinning Liberia’s second Poverty Reduction Strategy (currently under formulation). What does this mean in practice? How will a Human Rights Based Approach (HRBA) be translated in social services, and how will budgets be balanced to ensure that minority interests are considered?

The consultation process on the PRS II in Liberia offers an important opportunity for civil society to participate in the planning process and to ensure that its collective priorities are integrated into the PRS II. The PRS Tracking Network is a coalition of CSOs which applied a variety of tools to measure human rights aspects of PRS I implementation.  The research conducted by the three networks, namely the PRS Tracking Network,  the Human Rights and Disability Task Force and the Liberia Civil Society National Budget and Human Rights Forum, did not focus on tracking the PRS deliverables in terms of ‘outputs’, but rather on the process through which they were delivered at the community level, with particular attention to the human rights principles of participation, access to information, accountability, and non-discrimination,  and to the human rights standards of availability, accessibility, acceptability and quality of facilities, goods and services. The methodology used was piloted in five counties, and included the following tools: Community Scorecards, a household survey questionnaire, Focus Group Discussions, Town Hall meetings, community radio talk shows and an Input Tracking Matrix.

Conclusions from the PRS I tracking exercise can help create the foundations for a common civil society vision for the PRS II consultation process. With the support from UNDP, a policy paper was drafted by the PRS Tracking Network to highlight some key findings and policy recommendations that emerged from the PRS I tracking exercise. It will be used as an evidence-based input to inform the Liberian Government (and the public in general) about civil society’s priorities for the next development strategy. It will also help build consensus amongst CSOs, community-based organisations, disabled, youth & women groups across the country on a common agenda and priorities for the PRS II, thus allowing for more impactful engagement, at both national and county levels.

The nationwide consultations will also pave the way for the second phase of PRS tracking work, by allowing CSOs across the country to familiarize themselves with the work of the PRS Tracking Network, and with the content of the PRS II, while also allowing for early identification of priority issues to be tracked in the next phase.

For more information, please email marie.laberge@undp.org