-Aside from June 7 Protest
By R. Joyclyn Wea
Nobel peace laureates want the George Weah led government focus more attention on the basic human security of the people rather than the impending June 7 protest which has taken a center stage in the Country.
Speaking during a news conference at the end of the Nobel Women’s Initiative 2019 Conference at a local hotel in Sinkor, Leymah Gbowee mentioned healthcare, education, and economic as major sectors that government needs to focus on in order to stabilize the nation peace and democracy.
According to her, the health sector is in dying need of support and it takes courage for a government to cut down spending and invest in things that will alleviate the sufferings of the people saying “Our healthcare sector is still in dying need of support and I think when you talk about the food, the economy and the rising exchange rate, these are things that need to be worked on promptly.”
Nobel Laureate Gbowee further said “I feel that there are basic things that can be done to address some of these problems. For example, the Government should focus on the basic human security needs of the people. Few weeks ago, we heard and saw that at Phebe Hospital, a hospital in central Liberia; I will say the largest referral hospital on that side of our country was totally out of fuel, nurses were delivering babies with cellphone lights and see-section was being done with flashlight.”
She indicated that it is the duty and responsibility of National Government to ensure that the basic human security of the people is met at all time and as such, government must ensure it meets up with her obligation.
Meanwhile, Nobel Women’s Initiative’s (NWI) has climaxed its 2019 Conference in Monrovia. As part of the Nobel peace laureates at the NWI, they carry young women from around the world including Liberia to Canada to mentor.
This is to also ensure that young women around the world have access since the Nobel is a huge platform that further supports young women in and out of Liberia as it relates to peace, women’s rights and social justice.
Accordingly, during the conference, five Nobel Laureates including: Shirin Ebadi, Jody Williams, Tawakkol Karman, Leymah Gbowee, and Rigoberta Manchu shared their stories which put them on the spotlight amongst women around the globe.
Each of them spoke on peace, women’s rights and human rights and how other young women can get at the top and become a role model for their country and other young women and girls around the world.
The Nobel Women’s Initiative uses the prestige of the Nobel Peace Prize and six courageous Women Peace Laureates, Mairead Maguire, Rigoberta Menchú Tum, Jody Williams, Shirin Ebadi, Tawakkol Karman, and Leymah Gbowee to magnify the power and visibility of women working in countries around the world for peace, justice and equality.
These six women in 2006 established the Nobel Women’s Initiative bringing together their extraordinary experiences and work to spotlight, amplify and promote the work of grassroots women’s organizations and movements around the world.
The vision is to transform the world and respective countries through rejection of war, violence and militarism where global security is built around human rights, justice and equality for people and community human security rather than the security of the nation state.
It is also their mission as women recipients of the Nobel peace prize, to work together to use the visibility and prestige of the Nobel Prize to spotlight, work to strengthen and expand feminist efforts to promote nonviolent solutions to war, violence and militarism. TNR
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