Outcome LBR_D_1.2

By 2024, people in Liberia especially the vulnerable and disadvantaged, benefit from strengthened institutions that are more effective, accountable, transparent, inclusive and gender-responsive in the delivery of essential services at the national and sub-national levels.

UN Women Liberia has made some progress towards this Outcome. The Draft New Election Law which included a mandatory 30% gender quota for political parties and political party leadership (Article 4.5) has passed by Senate and the House of representative for the first time in Liberia. Currently the law is tabled to be signed by the president. The Law provides fines in the event of noncompliance by political parties. Violence Against Women in Election and Politics (VAWIE/P) Protocol developed by National Elections Commission (NEC), with the support of UN Women (since 2021) is also endorsed by the NEC and political parties; currently 29 out of 32 registered political parties have signed the protocol. UN Women is recognized by NEC for the support provided on VAWIE/P_ protocol during the signing. (LINK) UN Women also contributed toward gender responsiveness Ministries and Commissions i.e., Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Education (MOE), National Investment Commission (NIC), and Liberia Anti- Corruption Commission (LACC) by supporting the development of the Gender and Social Inclusion Policy. MOE, NIC and LACC have endorsed the policy during a validation workshop held in December 2022, MOH is expected to endorse the policy in 2023. These policies will pave the way for establishing gender and social inclusion units that will support other ministries, agencies, and commissions' efforts to mainstream gender and promote gender equality. UN Women has contributed significantly to the development of the draft quota law by providing technical support to the women Legislative Caucus of Liberia including in preparation of Constitutional arguments and drafting sections on incentives and fines for noncompliance. UN Women also worked with Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection Affairs (MGCSP), key male allies in the legislature and ensured the participation of women’s rights organizations by organizing a power mapping of the National Legislature. UN Women also worked with UNDP Resident Representative and Resident Coordinator, published an op-ed on the case for a mandatory gender quota. (Link) UN Women worked with NEC, legislators, political parties and women's rights organisations to advocate for the signing and implementation of the VAWIE Protocol. l UN Women fully supported development of the Gender and Social Inclusion Policy by providing technical support that led the consultation and development process ensuring full ownership by partners. The 30% gender quota law, if passed as a law, VAWIE/P Protcol and planned capacity building programme for aspirants and candidates in politics is expected to contribute to increased representation of women as candidates in the 2023 elections, and therefore as legislators. Plans for similar intervention by UN Women Liberia’s experience should integrate strong and coordinated advocacy and technical assistance work with UN Women HQ Interagency Task Team on TSMs.

By 2024, people in Liberia especially the vulnerable and disadvantaged, benefit from strengthened institutions that are more effective, accountable, transparent, inclusive and gender-responsive in the delivery of essential services at the national and sub-national levels.

UN Women contributed to the outcome by strengthening the policy, legal, institutional and community-side conditions needed for more accountable, inclusive and gender-responsive governance and service delivery. Progress was driven by nationally led reform processes, targeted technical support to electoral and governance institutions, and practical support to strengthen citizen engagement and county planning systems. UN Women supported the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MGCSP) to complete the evaluation of the National Gender Policy and use the findings to launch development of a new National Gender Policy and Strategic Results Framework aligned with the ARREST Agenda for Inclusive Development and Liberia’s regional and international commitments (including CEDAW, the Maputo Protocol and the SDGs). The inception phase for the new policy work was completed, setting out the methodology, consultation framework and timeline through March 2026, and strengthening MGCSP’s capacity to lead a results-focused, nationally owned policy reform process. the completion and national validation of Liberia’s assessment of gender-discriminatory laws, jointly led by MGCSP and the Law Reform Commission with UN Women support is a milestone. The assessment reviewed key statutory and customary-related legal issues and identified priority areas for reform, including gaps affecting women’s rights in marriage, inheritance and property, harmful practices, child marriage, and the absence of enforceable measures to increase women’s political participation. The technical peer review and national validation workshop strengthened national ownership of the findings, and the final report and synopsis were completed and cleared, positioning follow-up engagement with the Legislature and relevant committees to advance priority reforms. Support to women’s political participation focused on technical dialogue and strengthening institutional readiness for inclusive electoral reform. UN Women supported consultations with the Women’s Legislative Caucus of Liberia, NEC, civil society and partners to refine a national advocacy strategy on Temporary Special Measures, and a technical briefing convened in June 2025 helped clarify quota options, legal pathways and constitutionality considerations for stakeholders engaged in electoral reform discussions. Political fragmentation continued to slow agreement on a unified approach to Temporary Special Measures, and UN Women and partners adjusted engagement to focus on technical clarification and structured dialogue to rebuild consensus. UN Women, with UNDP under the Liberia Electoral Support Project, also advanced evidence generation and institutional inputs for gender-inclusive electoral administration. A gender and inclusion analysis of Liberia’s electoral legal and institutional framework commenced with international and national consultants engaged and an inception report prepared. While formal endorsement of the inception report remained pending, practical outputs were produced during the period, including gender and inclusion inputs to the draft NEC Strategic Plan and a review of the NEC Human Resources Manual, grounded in findings from the 2023 NEC Gender Audit and aligned with the NEC Gender Equality and Social Inclusion Policy. These outputs establish a base for a consolidated gap analysis and actionable recommendations in the next phase. At county level, UN Women strengthened the evidence base and civic space for accountability in county planning and service delivery. Under the PBF-supported social accountability work, assessments and community engagements confirmed that while awareness of county governance structures is growing, meaningful participation remains constrained for women, youth and persons with disabilities by weak information-sharing, irregular consultation, distance and cost barriers, and uneven service performance. Findings were validated and are guiding follow-up dialogue with county authorities, targeted advocacy by women’s and youth groups, and practical recommendations to strengthen inclusive participation and responsiveness of county institutions. Institutional capacity for gender-responsive decentralization was strengthened through support to the establishment and operationalization of County Development Planning Units across all counties. With the Ministry of Internal Affairs and UNDP, UN Women supported onboarding and capacity strengthening for county-level officials focused on development planning, gender-responsive budgeting, monitoring and evaluation, compliance, and the use of sex-disaggregated data, and supported development of practical guidance to help integrate gender equality and inclusion in county development planning and service center operations. This has supported a strengthened nationally owned reform processes, improved the evidence and tools available to institutions to advance gender equality, and expanded citizen capacity and engagement to demand more inclusive and accountable county planning and service delivery. https://www.undp.org/liberia/press-releases/women-increase-advocacy-electoral-reforms-and-political-participation https://africa.unwomen.org/en/stories/explainer/2025/04/liberia-electoral-support-project https://liberia.un.org/en/293014-liberia-electoral-support-project-concludes-gender-sensitization-training-security-sector

By 2024, people in Liberia especially the vulnerable and disadvantaged, benefit from strengthened institutions that are more effective, accountable, transparent, inclusive and gender-responsive in the delivery of essential services at the national and sub-national levels.

In 2024, UN Women contributed to addressing systemic barriers to women’s participation in decision-making processes and governance structures. As a result, the National Elections Commission (NEC), finalized and launched its Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) Policy in July 2024 . This policy sets a bold target of 50% inclusivity in electoral processes and decision-making roles for women and persons with disabilities. Developed through a participatory process that included consultations with persons with disabilities, and with technical advice from UN Women, the GESI Policy reflects the principle of Leaving No One Behind. UN Women further collaborated with the Liberian Legislature to advance gender-responsive governance. In June 2024, commitments were made to move from a 30% gender quota to full parity at the Legislative Reform Forum , which emphasized gender responsive lawmaking, citizen participation, and the importance of gender equality. UN Women also assisted the Women’s Legislative Caucus in developing a new Strategic Plan (2025- 2029), ensuring the integration of gender-responsive legislation and oversight. At the local level, governance and development planning processes became more gender-responsive and socially inclusive. Validation consultations for the CDAs saw improved representation, with women comprising 34% of participants (up from 24% during initial consultations ), youth representing 19%, and persons with disabilities representing 6%, aligning with the Local Government Act's inclusivity requirements. Following the validation of the CDAs, six pilot counties (Bong, Lofa, Bomi, Gbarpolu, Grand Bassa, and Nimba) launched County Development Planning Units (DPUs) in December 2024, supported by UN Women through the UN Peacebuilding Fund. To achieve this, UN Women collaborated with Liberia's Ministry of Internal Affairs (MIA), Ministry of Finance and Development Planning (MFDP), and Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection (MGCSP) to integrate gender and social development into national and county planning processes. Across six counties, 32 advocacy initiatives contributed to the appointment of 58 women to leadership roles , including town chiefs and district commissioners. It is expected that women in Liberia will be able to increasingly assume leadership roles and actively engage in local peacebuilding efforts the "Transformative Leadership and Community Engagement for Women’s Participation in Politics and Peacebuilding (Phase III)" project, funded by Irish Aid, that enabled UN Women to train 320 women across Gbarpolu, Nimba, Bomi, Lofa, Grand Bassa, and Grand Gedeh in gender-responsive governance. Media played a critical role in advancing gender equality and women’s leadership. Journalists in Liberia will be able to challenge stereotypes and amplify women’s voices , thanks to UN Women’s partnership with Internews and the Female Journalist Association of Liberia (FeJAL), that engaged 68 journalists (34 women, 34 men) from 20 media institutions. These efforts reinforced media’s role in promoting inclusive narratives and supporting women’s leadership.

By 2024, people in Liberia especially the vulnerable and disadvantaged, benefit from strengthened institutions that are more effective, accountable, transparent, inclusive and gender-responsive in the delivery of essential services at the national and sub-national levels.

Progress towards this outcome can be seen in the increase in the number of females in the Legislature (+1 from 10 to 11) and in the cabinet (+1 from 4 to 5) in this quarter. Additionally, advocacy and capacity building in this quarter contributed to more gender responsive institutions, particularly the National Elections Commission and the National Legislature.

By 2024, people in Liberia especially the vulnerable and disadvantaged, benefit from strengthened institutions that are more effective, accountable, transparent, inclusive and gender-responsive in the delivery of essential services at the national and sub-national levels.

In 2023, Liberian citizens benefitted from the more transparent, inclusive and gender responsive conduct of electons by the National Elections Commission (NEC) and of key electoral stakeholders inclusing those in the Liberia early warning, early response network. The biometric voter registration (BVR) process, carried out for the first time in Liberia contributed to a record number of Liberians registering to vote. As a result of significant efforts to engage women in electoral processes, women comprised just over 50% of the 2,471,617 total registered voters (50.06% or 1,237,257 are women as compared to 49.94% or 1,234,360 men). In addition, 12,399 (0.052%) identified as voters with disabilities. Remarkably, this was being the first election where timely gender-disaggregated data (GDD) for the candidate and voter registration and elections workers was provided by the National Elections Commission (NEC), and the first time the NEC provided GDD for registered voters at the district level and candidates by political party during the candidate nomination period. This data allowed for improved delivery of civic and voter education, advocacy and campaigns. The NEC collected four types of sex-disaggregated data for the 2023 elections: information on voters, poll workers, observers, and candidates. Women were just 159 of the 1029 (15.5%) accepted candidates. Out of the total 6,269 workers hired by NEC, 31% were women, with 27% of them serving in supervisory roles. Women made up 30% of the total registered observers for the 2023 elections (29.17% or 4371 were women as compared to 70.83% 6265 men). Although these figures are not gender balanced, GDD on temporary elections workers and voter turnout, as well as lessons learned from policy and legislative reform efforts will also improve inclusion and gender equality in future electoral processes. Although most political parties, alliances and coalitions generally did not demonstrate gender responsiveness when it came to increasing the percentage of women on their candidate listings, 26 of them signed the Revised Farmington River Declaration, reaffirming the Protocol between the National Elections Commission (NEC) and Political Parties to address Violence Against Women in Elections and Politics (VAWE/P Protocol), committing signatories to address electoral violence, including VAWP, in the 2023 Presidential and Legislative Elections. This demonstrated greater commitment of political parties to promote gender equality and women’s empowerment. The engendering of political will to address VAWE, together with strengthened capacities on VAWE including in documenting and reporting as well as nationwide awareness raising interventions on VAWE contributed to an enabling environment for women’s safe participation in politics ahead of the 2023 election, as evidenced by low recorded incidences of VAWE which benefitted women engaged in electoral processes as voters, elections workers, women's rights defenders, campaign staff and volunteers, and women candidates. Security sector and justice institutions were also strengthened to more effectively protect against VAWE and to investigate and pursue legal redress for VAWE cases through the formal justice system using the existing penal code as there is no specific law which refers to VAWE. Legal aid providers were also strengthened to provide gender sensitive legal services to women aspirants and women experiencing violence and discrimination due to their participation in politics and public life. While UN Women and UNDP supported targetted capacity building of the Peacebuilding Office (under the Ministry of Internal Affairs) and of the Ministry of Gender, Children, and Social Protection (MGCSP), UN Women's civil society partner, the Organization for Women and Children (ORWOCH) also targeted key institutions responsible for responding to VAWE including the Liberia National Bar Association (LNBA), NEC local magistrates, Liberia National Police (LNP) including Women and Children Protection Sections, magistrates, county attorneys, trial judges, prosecutors, public defenders, Sexual Gender Based Violence Unit personnel from the MGCSP in and the National Commission for Human Rights (INHCR). These interventions strengthened knowledge and capacities to recognize, report, and provide a more coordinated response to cases of VAWE. Similarly, while the electoral reform bill with a mandatory 30% gender quota for candidate listings did not receive Executive Approval in 2023, significant experience was gained and a broader coalition to advocate for electoral law reform including temporary special measures (TSMs) for women in politics in the future, and for a more gender responsive, effective and accountable legislature and executive branch. Additionally, UN Women worked to strengthen the accountability and inclusiveness of political parties with the NEC and civil society partners medica Liberia and POWER Liberia, working alongside the Coalition of Political Party Women in Liberia (COPPWIL) and women's auxillaries in political parties. Although only two of 31 political parties, alliances and coalitions submitted candidate nomination lists with over 30% women, some of the parties engaged demonstrated an openness to change and contributed to a guidance note for gender responsive parties and participated actively in other interventions and advocacy meetings. This demonstrates some progress towards political parties taking on reforms to promote women as leaders within their ranks and as candidates.