The Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Liberia will Monday begin a week long Regional County Consultations in three major cities around Liberia.

From May 18-22, 2009, the commission will convene the Consultations simultaneously in Region I: Zwedru, Grand Gedeh County; Region II: Gbarnga, Bong County; and Region III: Tubmanburg, Bomi County.

The consultation is designed to promote transparency, inclusion, participation and ownership of the peace-building and reconciliation initiatives that will help support social cohesion, democracy and national development. It is aimed at providing an opportunity once more for Liberians from the 15 counties to share their perspectives on how peace and reconciliation can be sustained in Liberia.

The consultation is one of the remaining key activities of the TRC Planned ahead of the expiration of its mandate in June 2009.

Participants of the Regional County Consultations will share their concerns, best practices, lessons learned and recommendations on the peace and reconciliation process. Moreover, the consultations will pave the way for follow up mechanisms and approaches on the implementation of the TRC recommendations.

Evidently, the civil conflict came with its challenges and there is a need to undertake post-conflict peace building and reconciliation initiatives that will help support social cohesion, democracy and national development.

The County Consultations will bring together 13 representatives from each county and they will consist of women, county authorities, children parliament, religious leaders, traditional leaders, civil society groups, clan representatives and vulnerable groups.

The holding of the Consultations follows Pre-County Consultation Mobilization throughout the country in preparation for the event.

The TRC last week deployed mobilizers to the 15 political sub-divisions of the country to engender massive participation.

The Mobilization exercise was a precursor to the Consultations which will also discuss national and county specific issues relevant to the mandate of the TRC and relative to the commission’s policy regarding reconciliation, reparation, prosecution and amnesty.

The Mobilization exercise conducted through the TRC’s County Coordinators and the Media and Outreach Department in collaboration with the county authorities was aimed at identifying and sensitizing representatives through selected counties and districts coordination committees.