Boakai Launches Women, Peace & Security Plan

By Lewis S. Teh

NEW YORK, United States, September 23, 2026: President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr. has officially launched Liberia’s Third National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (NAP III), declaring that the country’s peace was built with the courage and determination of women and must be sustained with their full participation.

President Boakai launched the plan Monday, September 21, during a Liberia-hosted High-Level Event on Women, Peace and Security at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.

The new framework seeks to strengthen women’s participation in peacebuilding, conflict prevention, security, justice and national decision-making.

“We have a saying in Liberia that men make the big decisions while women make the small decisions. But it is the women who decide which decisions are big and which decisions are small,” Boakai said at the opening of his remarks.

He also extended special greetings to women gathered at the Peace Hut in the Fish Market community in Monrovia who joined the event remotely.

President Boakai said Liberia’s transition from civil conflict to peace cannot be fully told without acknowledging the contributions of women who mobilized across religious, political and social divides.

“Our war did not end only at the negotiating table in Accra. Peace was driven from the markets, churches, mosques, streets, and communities of Monrovia, where women refused to be silent and refused to leave until leaders listened,” he said.

He recalled the contributions of the Women in Peacebuilding Network (WIPNET), the Liberian Mass Action for Peace, market women, and Muslim and Christian women who mobilized for an end to the country’s civil conflict.

“They were not invited to the peace processes; they made themselves impossible to exclude,” Boakai said.

Liberia has previously implemented national action plans aimed at advancing the objectives of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. UN Women says the government has continued supporting structures responsible for implementing the second phase of the country’s Women, Peace and Security National Action Plan.

President Boakai said NAP III seeks to build on lessons from those earlier efforts while addressing shortcomings in implementation.

The President outlined five pillars under the new plan: prevention; protection and access to justice; participation; relief, recovery and resilience; and coordination, accountability and financing.

Under prevention, the government intends to address drivers of conflict by strengthening social cohesion, tackling inequality and harmful social norms, and placing women at the center of early-warning and violence-prevention mechanisms.

On protection and access to justice, Boakai pointed to ongoing efforts to address conflict-related sexual violence and other gender-based atrocities while strengthening women’s access to justice.

Under participation, the President said the government intends to increase women’s representation in elected and appointed positions and remove barriers limiting their participation in the security sector.

He said the Armed Forces of Liberia, in partnership with UN Women, launched a two-year Elsie Initiative Fund project in February 2026 aimed at strengthening the recruitment, retention and deployment of women in peacekeeping.

According to the President, the immediate target is to increase female representation in the AFL to 15 percent by 2028, toward a broader national goal of 40 percent by 2030.

“As a non-permanent member of the United Nations Security Council, Liberia does not intend to advocate for women’s participation in peacebuilding around the world while failing to create space for women at home,” Boakai said.

Liberia is serving a two-year term on the UN Security Council covering 2026 and 2027. The government has identified women, youth, climate and regional stability among the areas it intends to emphasize during its tenure.

Under relief, recovery and resilience, Boakai said NAP III is designed to address not only the legacy of Liberia’s civil conflict but emerging challenges, including climate pressures, violent extremism, transnational crime and economic insecurity.

The fifth pillar focuses on coordination, accountability and financing, with relevant government institutions expected to work alongside civil society, traditional and religious leaders, women’s organizations and international partners in implementing the plan.

President Boakai said Liberia’s transition from years on the Security Council’s agenda to serving as a member of the Council provides the country an opportunity to make Women, Peace and Security a major part of its international engagement.

“A seat is an opportunity, not an achievement. What we do with it is the achievement,” he said.

He offered Liberia’s Peace Hut model as an example of locally driven peacebuilding that could contribute to the broader global Women, Peace and Security agenda.

The President acknowledged challenges surrounding financing for peacebuilding initiatives but said Liberia must demonstrate greater national ownership of NAP III rather than depending entirely on international partners.

“We have learned an important lesson that a plan that depends entirely on the priorities of others is not truly a national plan,” Boakai said.

“While we recognize that Liberia cannot do this alone, and seek support to implement the NAP III, we are committed to demonstrating the highest level of political will to own it.”

Addressing the women participating from the Peace Hut in Monrovia, Boakai said their contributions to Liberia’s peace remain an inspiration for the country’s future.

“To the mothers at the Fish Market who joined us today, your courage changed the course of our nation. Today, we carry that courage forward,” he said.

“That is the promise of this Third National Action Plan — to build a Liberia where every woman and girl can live safely, participate fully, lead with dignity, and help shape our country’s future.”

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