PETITION STATEMENT FOR THE PASSAGE OF A PROCOMMUNITY LAND RIGHTS BILL ISSUED THIS 29TH DAY OF MAY 2018 AD To our honorable lawmakers of the 54th Legislative Assembly, We, members of the Liberia Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) Working Group on Land Rights Reform , (hereafter the Working Group), a group of 28 CSOs working on land reform in Liberia; working along with the National Civil Society Council of Liberia (NCSCL), the Women Land Rights Task Force (WLRTF), communities across Liberia and in the diaspora, and friends from across Africa and around the world are here to present a collection of petitions urging you, our astute lawmakers, to pass a Pro-Community Land Rights Bill. The Working Group has collected over Seventy Thousand signatures and Resolutions supporting the passage of a Pro-Community Land Rights Bill: in all, over Forty Thousand Liberians, including a resolution from 45 chiefs from across the country have signed petitions supporting the passage of a ProCommunity Land Rights Bill. In addition, our call is supported by an international petition of over 30,000 people from more than 25 countries spanning Africa, America, Asia, Latin America and Europe showing their support and solidarity for Liberian communities and the civil society organizations. Given that nearly three million Liberians live in rural areas and depend heavily on the land, it is imperative that Liberia recognize and protect these citizens’ customary land rights.