MONROVIA— The Women NGOs Secretariat of Liberia (WONGOSOL) has called on the Liberian government to move beyond policy commitments and demonstrate concrete action by providing adequate national budgetary allocations for the implementation of the country’s Third National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (2026–2031).
By Patience M. Jones,[email protected]
WONGOSOL Executive Director Esther S. Davis Yango made the call during remarks at the official launch of the Third National Action Plan, urging the government to take greater ownership of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Agenda rather than relying heavily on development partners to finance its implementation.
Yango said the launch represents an important milestone in Liberia’s commitment to advancing women’s participation in peacebuilding, security governance, and national development. However, she warned that without adequate financing, institutional coordination, and accountability, the plan risks becoming another policy document with limited impact on the lives of women and girls.
“As we launch this third plan, we must ask ourselves: What will we do differently to ensure that our commitments translate into tangible results for women and girls across Liberia?” she asked.
She identified inadequate financing, weak institutional coordination, limited accountability, and insufficient support for grassroots women peacebuilders as some of the persistent challenges undermining the implementation of previous national action plans.
According to her, the government must demonstrate stronger political commitment through dedicated, adequate, and sustained budgetary allocations.
“The Women, Peace and Security Agenda cannot continue to depend primarily on development partner funding,” Yango emphasized, calling for the integration of the plan’s priorities into national and sectoral budgets, county development plans, and the government’s ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development.
Beyond financing, the WONGOSOL Executive Director stressed the importance of connecting the Women, Peace and Security Agenda to Liberia’s ongoing transitional justice process, particularly the needs of women who survived the country’s civil conflict.
She noted that more than two decades after the civil war, many women survivors continue to suffer from physical injuries, psychological trauma, and serious health complications, often without access to adequate medical treatment and psychosocial support.
Yango argued that Liberia cannot genuinely achieve sustainable peace and justice while survivors of wartime atrocities continue to suffer without the necessary assistance and rehabilitation.
“We cannot speak of sustainable peace and justice while women who endured the horrors of war continue to suffer in silence,” she said.
She called for medical care, rehabilitation, psychosocial support, and survivor-centered reparations to be treated as essential components of Liberia’s transitional justice commitments.
Yango also urged the National Legislature to prioritize the consideration and passage of critical legislation, including the proposed Women and Girls Protection Act, to strengthen the legal protection of women and girls against violence, discrimination, and other violations of their rights.
She maintained that stronger legal protections are necessary to guarantee women’s safety, dignity, and meaningful participation in national development.
With Liberia preparing for its 2029 general and presidential elections, the WONGOSOL chief raised concerns about the persistent underrepresentation of women in political leadership.
She identified political violence and intimidation against women, limited access to campaign financing, and discriminatory practices within political parties as major barriers preventing women from fully participating in the country’s political process.
Yango called for deliberate electoral and political party reforms to create a more inclusive political environment, protect women candidates and voters, and expand opportunities for women to occupy leadership positions.
“Women must not only be mobilized as voters during elections; they must be supported as candidates, political leaders, and decision-makers,” she stressed.
She said the Third National Action Plan provides an opportunity to strengthen women’s leadership, promote conflict prevention, improve security governance, and ensure that women contribute meaningfully to decisions affecting the country’s future.
She further emphasized the need to ensure that rural women, young women, women with disabilities, and survivors of violence are included in the implementation process.
Meanwhile, Yango acknowledged the contributions of UN Women, the United Nations system, and other development partners for their continued financial and technical support toward advancing the Women, Peace and Security Agenda in Liberia.
She reaffirmed WONGOSOL’s commitment, alongside its civil society partners, to supporting the implementation of the new action plan, monitoring progress, and demanding accountability from relevant institutions.
She challenged stakeholders to ensure that the Third National Action Plan becomes more than another government policy document, but a framework that produces measurable improvements in the lives of Liberian women and girls.
“Let this Third National Action Plan be remembered not simply as another policy document, but as the plan that moved Liberia from commitments to measurable action,” she declared.
She concluded that the success of the five-year plan must be determined by the resources committed, laws strengthened, and lives transformed rather than the promises made during its launch.
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