Posted: 6 January, 2023 | Author: AfricLaw | Filed under: Uncategorized, Urias Teh Pour | Tags: 2023, African Charter on Democracy, African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, Alien and Nationality Act of 1973, citizenship, civil war, Elections and Good Governance, Gabriel Shumba and Others, General Comment 25, human rights, Human Rights Committee, inclusive vote, Liberia, migrant workers, Mtikila v Tanzania, New Elections Law, refugees, Right to participate, right to vote, Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties |
Author: Urias Teh Pour
Executive Director, Independent National Commission on Human Rights (INCHR), Liberia
For the first time in the political history of Liberia, Liberians in the diaspora are making a strong case for their inclusion in the 2023 general and presidential elections. This call has come at the time when the Alien and Nationality Act of 1973 which prohibited dual nationality has been amended. The amended Act, Alien Nationality Law of 2022, provides that ‘any person who acquires another in addition to his or her Liberian citizenship shall not [be] deemed to have relinquished his or her Liberian citizenship.’
The passage of this law led to a wave of calls for the democratisation of electoral politics, considering the huge population of Liberians living abroad and their aspiration to participate in elections to elect their leaders at home. The Liberia Demographic Survey of 2021 projected Liberia’s population at 5.18 million. There are approximately 1.2 million Liberians and people with Liberian heritage scattered all over the globe, with the majority living and referring to the United States as their home. Some statisticians have predicted that the on-going population and housing census would exceed the projected number.
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Posted: 2 August, 2018 | Author: AfricLaw | Filed under: Urias Teh Pour | Tags: constitution, Criminal Libel laws, decriminalise free speech, ECOWAS Treaty, free speech, freedom of expression, Freedom of Information Act, George Manneh Weah, human rights, ICCPR, Konate v. Burkina Faso, Liberia, Liberian Football legend, Ministry of Information, New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, newly elected Governmen, Penal Law, Table Mountain Declaration, UN Human Rights Committee |
Author: Urias Teh Pour
Legal Advisor on the Liberia Law Society Land Rights and Freedom of Expression Projects
The recent move to repeal Liberia’s Criminal Libel laws by the newly elected Government of former Liberian Football legend, George Manneh Weah, has been hailed by human rights groups as a positive step in the right direction. The effort to decriminalise section 11.11 of the Penal Law comes barely two months following the visit of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression to Liberia. The UN Officials called on the Government of Liberia to review all laws that undermine free speech, as guaranteed by article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and other instruments ratified by Liberia.
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AfricLaw 
Right to participate and citizenship: Liberians yearn for an inclusive vote in 2023
Posted: 6 January, 2023 | Author: AfricLaw | Filed under: Uncategorized, Urias Teh Pour | Tags: 2023, African Charter on Democracy, African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, Alien and Nationality Act of 1973, citizenship, civil war, Elections and Good Governance, Gabriel Shumba and Others, General Comment 25, human rights, Human Rights Committee, inclusive vote, Liberia, migrant workers, Mtikila v Tanzania, New Elections Law, refugees, Right to participate, right to vote, Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties | 1 CommentExecutive Director, Independent National Commission on Human Rights (INCHR), Liberia
For the first time in the political history of Liberia, Liberians in the diaspora are making a strong case for their inclusion in the 2023 general and presidential elections. This call has come at the time when the Alien and Nationality Act of 1973 which prohibited dual nationality has been amended. The amended Act, Alien Nationality Law of 2022, provides that ‘any person who acquires another in addition to his or her Liberian citizenship shall not [be] deemed to have relinquished his or her Liberian citizenship.’
The passage of this law led to a wave of calls for the democratisation of electoral politics, considering the huge population of Liberians living abroad and their aspiration to participate in elections to elect their leaders at home. The Liberia Demographic Survey of 2021 projected Liberia’s population at 5.18 million. There are approximately 1.2 million Liberians and people with Liberian heritage scattered all over the globe, with the majority living and referring to the United States as their home. Some statisticians have predicted that the on-going population and housing census would exceed the projected number.
Read the rest of this entry »