MONROVIA, LIBERIA — A coalition of Liberian civil society organizations has called on President Joseph Nyuma Boakai’s administration and the Legislature to suspend the allocation and ratification of new Mineral Development Agreements until the country enacts a comprehensive and modern Mineral and Mining Law.
The demand, announced Tuesday, October 27, comes amid ongoing efforts to reform Liberia’s mining sector, with the consortium warning that continuing to negotiate and approve long-term mineral agreements under an outdated legal framework could perpetuate governance weaknesses and prevent the country from securing fair and sustainable benefits from its mineral wealth.
The CSO Consortium on Minerals, Mining, and Inclusive Sustainable Development presented its collective position at a press conference held at the headquarters of the Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL) in Monrovia.
Reading the statement on behalf of the consortium, Cllr. Yah Vallah Parwon, Country Director of Medica Liberia, formerly Medica Mondiale Liberia, urged the government to make legal reform a priority before committing the country to additional long-term mining arrangements.
The consortium argued that Liberia’s mineral resources offer substantial opportunities for national development, but decades of extraction have failed to deliver economic benefits and improved public services commensurate with the country’s mineral wealth.
It identified weak regulatory enforcement, corruption, limited domestic value addition, inadequate transparency, environmental degradation, and insufficient community participation as persistent challenges undermining the sector’s contribution to national development.
The coalition maintained that reforming the law must involve more than revising existing provisions. Instead, it called for a fundamental restructuring of the governance framework to ensure that mining operations protect Liberia’s national interests and produce measurable benefits for citizens, particularly communities directly affected by mineral extraction.
At the center of the consortium’s position is its demand for an immediate moratorium on the allocation and ratification of new Mineral Development Agreements.
The proposed moratorium would require the Executive Branch, through the Office of President Boakai, and the Legislature to suspend the approval of new agreements until a comprehensive and modern mining law is enacted.
The coalition said approving additional long-term agreements before completing the reform process could lock Liberia into arrangements that fail to address longstanding weaknesses in transparency, accountability, revenue management, environmental protection, and community benefit-sharing.
Its position places the timing of new mining agreements at the heart of the national debate over mineral governance.
Mineral Development Agreements can establish important terms governing investment, production, government revenues, employment, infrastructure commitments, and other obligations between the state and mining companies. The consortium’s demand therefore reflects concern that the legal framework governing these arrangements must be sufficiently strong to protect the country’s interests before further commitments are made.
The statement, however, did not identify specific proposed agreements that should be suspended, nor did it accuse any named mining company of violating the law.
Instead, the coalition presented the moratorium as a preventive measure intended to ensure that future agreements are negotiated and approved under a legal framework capable of addressing Liberia’s longstanding mining governance challenges.
The government has been urged to demonstrate its commitment to reform by ensuring that the revision process produces enforceable safeguards rather than cosmetic changes to the existing legal regime.
Beyond the moratorium, the consortium called for legally enforceable transparency and accountability requirements covering mining agreements, licensing, mineral production, revenue sharing, and the management of public revenues generated by the sector.
It wants the revised law to guarantee meaningful public participation in decisions affecting land, livelihoods, and the environment, particularly for communities living in mining areas.
The coalition referenced Article 7 of Liberia’s Constitution in support of its call for greater citizen participation in the management of the country’s economy and natural resources.
It also urged the government to establish clear regulatory responsibilities, effective monitoring mechanisms, and appropriate sanctions for mining companies and public officials who violate applicable laws.
The proposed reforms would also provide affected communities with accessible grievance procedures and effective legal remedies when their rights are violated.
The consortium’s position reflects a concern that legal provisions alone will not deliver better results unless regulatory institutions have clearly defined responsibilities and the authority to enforce compliance.
It called for improved coordination among the Ministry of Mines and Energy, the Environmental Protection Agency, the Liberia Revenue Authority, the National Bureau of Concessions, the Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, and other relevant institutions.
According to the coalition, stronger institutional coordination would help close regulatory gaps and improve oversight of mining concessions and their associated obligations.
The consortium also wants the revised law to establish a transparent and equitable framework for sharing the benefits of mineral extraction with affected communities.
It argued that communities experiencing the direct consequences of mining should receive meaningful development benefits proportionate to the impacts they endure.
The proposed framework would strengthen community rights under the Land Rights Law of 2018 and other applicable legislation, while establishing clearer obligations for mining companies and public institutions.
The coalition’s concerns include the gap between the economic value generated by mineral extraction and the development opportunities available to communities whose land, livelihoods, and environment are affected by mining activities.
It called for reforms that would make community benefit-sharing arrangements more transparent, enforceable, and responsive to local needs.
Environmental protection is another major component of the proposed changes.
The consortium wants mining companies to face stronger obligations for mine closure, land reclamation, environmental restoration, and rehabilitation. It also called for effective monitoring and enforcement to ensure that environmental damage does not leave communities with long-term costs after mining operations end.
The coalition argued that Liberia must move beyond an economic model heavily dependent on extracting and exporting unprocessed minerals.
It proposed enforceable requirements for progressive mineral processing, domestic industrial development, technology transfer, and skills development.
The revised law, it said, should also require mining companies to prioritize qualified Liberians for employment and increase procurement opportunities for Liberian-owned businesses.
The proposals seek to strengthen the domestic economic benefits of mining by encouraging more industrial activity, employment, technical expertise, and business participation within Liberia.
The consortium further called for rigorous assessments of tax incentives and exemptions to establish whether they deliver demonstrable benefits to the country.
It wants greater disclosure of beneficial ownership, transparent concession allocation, and public reporting on mineral production, exports, and revenues, consistent with the principles of the Liberia Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative.
These measures, according to the coalition’s position, would strengthen public oversight and help citizens understand how mineral resources are allocated, extracted, and converted into national revenue.
Despite its demand for a moratorium, the consortium welcomed the Government of Liberia’s stated commitment to reform and modernize mining governance.
The coalition said its position emerged from consultations involving civil society organizations and representatives of mining-affected communities on October 1, 2026.
It subsequently convened a multi-actor roundtable in Monrovia on October 21, bringing together development partners, relevant government institutions, private-sector representatives, civil society organizations, and affected communities.
The roundtable examined a draft reform proposal and provided additional input that informed the consortium’s collective position.
The coalition said the resulting recommendations reflect its conviction that investment in the mineral sector must operate within a transparent, accountable, predictable, fair, equitable, gender-responsive, and enforceable legal framework.
Its position also calls for specific protections and economic opportunities for women, young people, persons with disabilities, and other marginalized groups.
The proposed reforms include measures to address barriers to employment, entrepreneurship, decision-making, and access to mining-related benefits. They also call for stronger prevention of and responses to sexual and gender-based violence, including sexual exploitation, abuse, and harassment.
The consortium wants safe and confidential reporting mechanisms, survivor-centered support services, and accountability for perpetrators.
It also called for a stronger regulatory framework for artisanal, small-scale, and mechanized mining, including sand and quarry operations, with improved environmental and public health safeguards and practical pathways for formalization.
The consortium’s recommendations present the government and Legislature with a series of policy choices concerning the pace of mining investment, the strength of regulatory oversight, and the distribution of benefits from mineral extraction.
The proposed moratorium is the coalition’s immediate demand, while the remaining recommendations outline the legal and institutional changes it wants incorporated into the revised law.
The practical outcome will depend on how the government and Legislature respond to the proposed suspension of new agreements, how the law is drafted and enacted, and whether the final provisions establish enforceable obligations for companies and public institutions.
The consortium’s central argument is that Liberia should not continue making long-term commitments involving its mineral wealth without first strengthening the legal safeguards intended to protect the country’s economic, environmental, and social interests.
The statement was endorsed by the Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia, Integrity Watch Liberia, the Sustainable Development Institute, Medica Liberia, ActionAid Liberia, Integrated Development and Learning, Civil Society Independent Forest Monitors, and Sustain Earth and Equity Defenders.
