Libéria

When asked to provide more context about who was particularly unlikely to enjoy their right to education in 2024, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

• The education system is insufficiently funded, leading to poor infrastructure, limited resources, low salaries for teachers, and a shortage of teachers, especially in rural areas
• Certain primary schools have insufficient infrastructure, such as lack of water and electricity and teacher shortages
• The public-private partnerships education initiatives have resulted in many student expulsions and teacher dismissals
• The government's reporting on educational statistics from the Educational Management Information System (EIMS) is not sufficiently quick or accurate to help guide education policy
• Doctors, teachers, and politicians
• People living in rural areas, which are underserved areas, do not have sufficient teachers or schools, including in Gbarpolu, Grand Kru, Maryland, and Rivercess
• People in rural areas, due to schools often being overcrowded, students have to travel long distances to attend, and there are low enrolment and high dropout rates
• People with a low income who live in urban areas
• People with disabilities, due to a lack of accessibility into school buildings, and lack of trained special needs professionals

When asked to provide more context about who was particularly unlikely to enjoy their right to food in 2024, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

• Liberia is experiencing a food crisis with high inflation, economic instability, and reliance on imports for food
• Indigenous peoples
• Doctors, teachers, and politicians
• Prisoners and detainees, due to overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, lack of food, and lack of medical services
• People who are addicted to drugs
• People living in rural areas, particularly in Bong, Grand Gedeh, Lofa, Rivercess, and Sinoe, experience high food insecurity, limited markets and insufficient infrastructure

When asked to provide more context about who was particularly unlikely to enjoy their right to health in 2024, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

• Prisoners and detainees, due to overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, lack of food, and lack of medical services
• Doctors, teachers, and politicians
• People with low social or economic status, due to lack of staff and medications in local medical centres
• People from poor and remote communities, especially marginalised ethnic groups and internally displaced people
• People living in rural areas, especially women and girls and people living in in Bong and Nimba
• Pregnant women and children under the age of 5
• Women and girls, due to female genital mutilation persisting in certain areas, despite the practice being criminalised
• People who experience physical violence or neglect, due to a lack of investigations, administrative delays, and inadequate conclusions to cases
• People living with chronic illnesses, such as HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis
• People who cannot afford to leave the country to receive healthcare abroad, due to inadequate services occasionally leading to preventable deaths
• People with disabilities, members of the LGBTQIA+ community, and sex workers face discrimination and stigma when trying to receive medical care, especially in rural areas

When asked to provide more context about who was particularly unlikely to enjoy their right to housing in 2024, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

• Housing conditions are poor, including people going without electricity, water, and sanitation
• Prisoners and detainees, due to overcrowding, unsanitary conditions, lack of food, and lack of medical services
• Public housing provided by the government is inadequate, and the budget for housing projects is very low
• Doctors, teachers, and politicians
• People living in rural areas, due to homes being built without electricity or water
• People living in rural areas, especially internally displaced people and people living in Bong and Nimba
• People living in informal housing settlements, particularly in urban areas such as Monrovia due to forced evictions without proper notice or compensation
• People living in urban informal settlements or slums, due to overcrowding and inadequate construction, being exposed to the elements, resulting in health issues
• Marginalised ethnic communities
• Members of the LGBTQIA+ community, especially those with a low income, due to renter discrimination
• Older people and people with disabilities, due to lack of accessible housing
• People seeking compensation following forced evictions

When asked to provide more context about who was especially vulnerable to arbitrary or political arrest and detention by government agents in 2024, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

• Drug dealers and people who are addicted to drugs
• Political leaders
• Members and affiliates of political opposition parties face arrest without formal charges, especially the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC) and the Vanguard Student Unification Party (SUP)
• Protesters, particularly during the December 2024 protests in Monrovia which included the arrest and detention of many protesters, such as former presidential aide Sekou Kalasco Damaro
• Members and leaders of unions face arbitrary arrest, detention, and intimidation for participating in union meetings or protests
• Healthcare workers, due to harassment and arbitrary detention by state agents, especially when protesting working conditions or budget cuts
• Journalists face harassment, intimidation, assault, and detention
• Members of certain ethnic groups, especially the Mandingo and Krahn
• There are reports of Judges accepting bribes for granting bail, resulting in overcrowding in prisons and long detentions for people unable to pay 

When asked to provide more context about who was especially vulnerable to disappearance by government agents in 2024, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

• Auditors and people who reveal information the government may deem ‘sensitive’

When asked to provide more context about who was especially vulnerable to death penalty executions by government agents in 2024, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

• Liberia has not had a death penalty execution since 2000 

When asked to provide more context about who was especially vulnerable to extrajudicial killing by government agents in 2024, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

• Sate law enforcement agents use coercion and excessive force, leading to many injuries and fatalities
• Detainees are kept incommunicado and it is often unclear whether an extrajudicial killing has occurred
• Auditors and people who reveal information the government may deem ‘sensitive’

When asked to provide more context about who was especially vulnerable to restrictions on their rights to assembly and association by the government or its agents in 2024, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

• State police officers use coercion and excessive force, such as the unnecessary use of weapons during protests, leading to many injuries and fatalities
• Members of political parties, especially opposition parties
• Political opposition groups and parties are restricted from holding meetings and public demonstrations, especially The Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC)
• Auditors and people who reveal information the government may deem ‘sensitive’
• Protesters, especially during the December 2024 protests in Monrovia which resulted in multiple injuries and arrests, including former presidential aide Sekou Kalasco Damaro, as well as the July SRC protests in Weala
• Students and student movements
• Members of the LGBTQIA+ community, especially advocates for sexual orientation, gender identity, and LGBTQIA+ rights
• Union members and associates, particularly those who criticise the government and its labour practices, especially the Bea Mountain Mining Company and Workers Union, Firestone Agricultural Workers Union, and Sethi Brothers Workers Union
• Members and leaders of unions face arbitrary arrest, detention, and intimidation for participating in union meetings or protests
• There are reports of government obstruction of unions, such as meetings being disrupted and materials confiscated
• Children who are homeless, especially those who use drugs

When asked to provide more context about who was especially vulnerable to restrictions on their rights to opinion and expression by government agents in 2024, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

• Members of political opposition parties, including politicians
• Government appointees
• Auditors and people who reveal information the government may deem ‘sensitive’
• Human rights advocate, activists, and journalists face censorship, harassment, and arrest for voicing dissenting opinions
• Students and members of student movements
• Protesters, particularly during the December 2024 protests in Monrovia which resulted in multiple injuries and arrests
• Members of the LGBTQIA+ community, due to the criminalisation of same-sex relationships
• Nine employees from the Monrovia City Corporation were fired for ‘dangerous and destructive social media campaigns’ opposing the President and other government officials

When asked to provide more context about who was especially vulnerable to restrictions on their political participation by the government or its agents in 2024, our respondents mentioned all of the following:

• Members of the political opposition, including the Coalition for Democratic Change (CDC)
• Government Representative Luther Sandy Collins was assaulted and injured by police on the way to a hearing for the National Budget
• People who participate in protests face administrative or legal barriers to their political participation
• Students and student movements
• Women, due to not being equally represented in politics, particularly in the legislature, and women regularly being appointed to inferior positions than their male counterparts
• Children who are homeless, especially those who use drugs