By: Trokon Wrepue – trokon1992seokin@gmail.com
New York, USA — Liberia’s Minister of Gender, Children and Social Protection, Gbeme Horace-Kollie, has called for stronger international financing to advance the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) agenda, cautioning that global progress could stall without sustainable resources.
She made the remarks while addressing the UN General Assembly’s Ministerial High-level Session on Women, Peace, and Security, hosted by Japan and Norway in partnership with UN Women under the theme: “Deepening WPS Commitments for Action: Innovating and Adapting to Deliver on Peace and Security.”
“Our collective credibility rests on translating commitments into tangible results for women and girls,” Minister Horace-Kollie told global delegates. “Resourcing and accelerating action for Women, Peace, and Security is not optional.”
Liberia, she noted, was the first post-conflict country to adopt a National Action Plan on WPS in 2009, renewing the commitment in 2019 with a second plan that runs through 2025. A third-generation plan (2026–2031) is now under development, guided by lessons learned and consultations with grassroots women’s groups, security actors, and international partners.
The Gender Minister underscored Liberia’s strides in embedding WPS across governance and security institutions. Women currently make up 60 percent of the Supreme Court bench and hold 33.3 percent of county superintendent positions.
A Gender and Security Sector Taskforce has been established to coordinate gender inclusion across the military, police, and immigration services, while legal reforms and affirmative action policies are working to remove systemic barriers to women’s political participation.
She also highlighted Liberia’s flagship social protection program, the REALISE Project, which has reached more than 53,000 vulnerable households, the majority of them female-headed.
The Social Cash Transfer component alone is supporting 16,000 women-led households across four counties. According to her, these investments reduce food insecurity, enhance resilience, and empower women economically — all of which are crucial building blocks for peace.
Despite such progress, Minister Horace-Kollie warned that the lack of sustainable financing continues to hinder advancement, limiting coordination, weakening implementation, and restricting access to lifesaving services such as gender-based violence response and women-led peacebuilding initiatives.
“Liberia stands ready to play its part, but we cannot do it alone,” she stressed. “Together, we must ensure that financing matches ambition and that no woman or girl is left behind.”
As the WPS agenda marks 25 years since the adoption of UN Security Council Resolution 1325, Liberia’s message to the global community was clear: progress is possible, but only if political will, resources, and sustained collaboration accompany international commitments.
