Liberia: ‘Give Us More Than a Seat at the Table’- Yango Demands Real Space for Liberian Youth

GANTA, NIMBA COUNTY — Liberia has a national policy framework designed to put young people at the center of peacebuilding, conflict prevention and security, but the real test now is whether they will be given the power and resources to help implement it.

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By Patience M. Jones

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That was the central message from Women NGOs Secretariat of Liberia (WONGOSOL) Executive Director Esther S. Davis Yango, who called for a fundamental shift in how young people particularly young women are engaged in decisions affecting Liberia’s peace and security.

Yango spoke Monday, September 21 in Ganta City, Nimba County during the Liberia Youth, Peace and Security Conference 2026**,** where young people from Montserrado, Nimba, Bong, Bomi and Sinoe gathered to discuss youth leadership, conflict prevention, community peacebuilding, transitional justice and implementation of Liberia’s National Action Plan on Youth, Peace and Security.

Her intervention came at a critical point in Liberia’s YPS Agenda.

The Government launched its National Action Plan on Youth, Peace and Security in August 2025, setting out measures intended to promote meaningful youth participation in peacebuilding, conflict prevention and security.

But Yango said a policy document alone cannot transform the realities young Liberians face.

“Young people must have a meaningful space in decisions about peace and security,” she told participants.

She argued that young people should no longer be viewed simply as beneficiaries of peacebuilding programs.

“They are peace actors, community leaders and partners in shaping Liberia’s future,” Yango said.

From Consultation to Influence

For Yango, the challenge is not simply getting young people into conference halls. It is ensuring that their voices influence what happens after the meetings end.

“Meaningful participation must therefore go beyond workshops and consultations,” she stated, calling for opportunities for young people to influence policies, participate in decision-making, contribute to conflict prevention and early-warning systems, and hold institutions accountable.

Her call reflects an issue already identified in Liberia’s national youth policy, which recognizes the marginalization of young people from governance and decision-making and calls for proactive youth participation. The Ministry of Youth and Sports has also acknowledged the implementation challenge.

In July 2026, the Ministry said it had developed an operational framework outlining activities, timelines, lead institutions and partner responsibilities for implementing the National Action Plan.

Yango wants that implementation to reach beyond government offices and conference rooms and into communities.

“Policies without implementation would not change the realities that we face, my people,” she said.

The Money and Machinery Matter

Yango said moving Liberia’s Youth, Peace and Security and Women, Peace and Security commitments from paper to practice will require more than political declarations.

She called for resources, clear institutional responsibilities, measurable targets and regular monitoring.

She also stressed the need to integrate women, peace and security commitments into national peacebuilding, development and local governance processes.

The message is particularly relevant as Liberia works to operationalize its 2025–2030 YPS Framework, which identifies concrete actions for meaningful youth participation in conflict prevention, peacebuilding and sustaining peace.

Young Women Cannot Be an Afterthought

Yango also placed young women at the center of Liberia’s peacebuilding conversation.

She said young women and girls face specific barriers, including violence, exclusion from decision-making and economic insecurity, while noting that women and young people have historically contributed to Liberia’s peacebuilding efforts.

She, therefore, called for youth and women’s participation to be incorporated into transitional justice processes, including opportunities for intergenerational dialogue.

“Transitional justice must therefore include meaningful participation by young people and women,” she said.

For Yango, Liberia’s peacebuilding process must confront not only the legacy of conflict but also the conditions that could allow violence and exclusion to re-emerge.

‘Do Not Just Fund the Programs—Fund the People’

Yango further challenged government and development partners to invest in youth- and women-led organizations already working within communities.

She said these organizations possess community knowledge, networks and relationships that can help identify tensions before they escalate.

“They should not only be viewed as programme implementers but also as partners in policy development, peacebuilding and accountability,” she said.

She called for their knowledge to be incorporated into early-warning and early-response mechanisms so that community concerns can translate into timely action.

Peacebuilding Must Also Heal

Beyond participation and policy implementation, Yango said Liberia’s peacebuilding agenda must recognize the human cost of violence.

Survivors, women, young people and communities affected by violence, she said, need safe spaces and appropriate psychosocial support.

“Peacebuilding requires healing,” she emphasized.

She urged government and partners to establish regular platforms where progress on Youth, Peace and Security and Women, Peace and Security commitments can be reviewed, challenges identified and corrective measures taken.

A Test Beyond the Conference Hall

The one-day conference was organized by the National Young Women Political Council of Liberia (NYWPCL) in partnership with PeaceGen project implementing partners and other national stakeholders.

Held under the theme:, “Advancing Youth Leadership for Peace: Strengthening the Implementation of Liberia’s National Action Plan on Youth, Peace and Security,” the gathering brought together young people, government officials, civil society organizations and development partners.

The conference was held under the PeaceGen Project, funded by the European Union and co-funded by the Embassy of Ireland.

The broader PeaceGen initiative focuses on strengthening women’s and youth participation in peacebuilding, transitional justice, memorialization and accountability processes in Liberia.

But for Yango, the real measure of success will not be the number of conferences held, policies adopted or commitments announced.

It will be whether young people can actually influence decisions.

“We, therefore, call for a fundamental shift from consultation to meaningful participation, from participation to influence, from policy commitments to implementation, from short-term projects to sustainable investments, and from viewing women and young people as beneficiaries to recognising and supporting them as leaders and equal partners in peacebuilding,” she said.

And as Liberia moves forward with its national Youth, Peace and Security agenda, Yango left stakeholders with a challenge that extends beyond Ganta:

“Young people, especially young women, are not simply invited to inherit the future but are empowered to shape it.”