Gbowee Peace Foundation, Partners Launch Peace Campaign Ahead of 2023 Elections

PAYNESVILLE, Monrovia – The Gbowee Peace Foundation Africa (GPFA), in collaboration with its partners, has officially kicked off a peace campaign in Liberia.

The campaign aims to encourage political parties and their supporters to uphold peace both before and after the 2023 Presidential and Legislative Elections in the country.

The inauguration of the peace campaign featured the unveiling of Peace Billboards at the Boulevard Junction and Freeport Intersection over the weekend. This initiative is part of a broader effort to promote the Women’s Peace Manifesto, which was endorsed in August of this year by female politicians, business leaders, grassroots organizations, civil society representatives, religious leaders, and youth-led organizations, all committed to ensuring a peaceful 2023 election.

During the unveiling ceremony, Melvina Bright emphasized the critical importance of maintaining peace for Liberia’s progress. “With the message boldly inscribed on the board, ‘DON’T TOUCH OUR PEACE,’ we appeal to all political parties, their supporters, the youth, and every Liberian to safeguard the peace and ensure peaceful 2023 elections,” said Ms. Bright.

The unveiling of the Peace Billboards was accompanied by a peaceful gathering, primarily composed of women, who displayed various peace messages and distributed flyers conveying messages of peace.

Below is the manifesto
We, the women of Liberia, have come together in Monrovia under the leadership of Nobel Peace Laureates President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf and Leymah Roberta Gbowee, to appeal to all Liberians that what binds us together is greater than what divides us.
We must unite as we did twenty years ago to make war and violence implausible.
We call on all citizens and participants in the political process to shun violence in all shapes and forms, and respect the dignity and life of every person within the borders of our land.
We commit to working for non-violent engagement as the only means to resolve conflict arising during and after elections.
We commit to ensuring that the human rights of every person participating in elections will be respected and upheld.
We declare all women and people differently abled have the right to run for political office and to participate in all aspects of the political process, without harm or threat of violence.
We will work to respect and defend the rights of every person to express their views and align with any political group they desire without fear of intimidation.
We expect the National Elections Commission and political parties to ensure compliance to the principles of free, fair and peaceful democratic elections.
We call upon the National Elections Commission and political parties to abide by the UN
Economic and Social Council Resolution 1990/15 which calls for 30% women in a leadership processes.
We expect political parties to abide by and promote amongst their partisans the edicts of the Farmington Declaration and the Violence Against Women in Elections and Politics (VAWIE/P) Protocol.
We call for the timely and robust prosecution of perpetrators of violence against women in politics and elections, ensuring women’s speedy access to justice.
We are resolved to use our voices to amplify and disseminate the messages of peace via the media, social media, and in all public spaces including schools and places of worship across Liberia.
We must remember our past and work with all our might and take ownership and accountability to sustain the peace, as our children and the future of Liberia lie in our hands.
We recognize that Peace is not just the absence of war but the presence of conditions that dignify all. Hence, we are committed to imbibing the Culture of Peace amongst all
Liberians, whilst promoting reconciliation within the borders of Liberia and in the diaspora. This we believe will contribute to sustainable development and improve the life of all.