HEARTTALK NETWORK

MONROVIA, Liberia — November 14, 2026 — President Joseph Nyuma Boakai has signed the founding Project Charter for Liberia’s proposed Peace, Reconciliation and Memorial Museum, establishing the governance framework for the initiative ahead of the inaugural National Steering Committee meeting scheduled for November 16–18 in Monrovia.

The President signed the charter on Friday, November 13, according to a statement published Saturday by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Liberia. The document was also signed by Minister of State without Portfolio Hadja Mamaka Bility, who chairs the National Steering Committee, and UNDP Resident Representative Ambassador Aliou Mamadou Dia, its co-chair.

Charter establishes five technical working groups

UNDP said the charter defines the museum project’s mandate, leadership, governance arrangements and decision-making procedures. It also establishes five technical working groups covering the national narrative; archives and collections; governance and the legal framework; design and visitor experience; and education and public engagement.

President Boakai is expected to preside over the opening session of the committee’s first meeting at the Executive Pavilion from November 16 to 18. Technical delegations from Rwanda and South Africa were expected to arrive between November 14 and 15 to share experience in historical preservation, museum development, memorialization, reconciliation and post-conflict recovery.

Rwanda and South Africa to share experience

The planned technical exchange builds on a UNDP-supported study mission led by Minister Bility between August and September 2026. In Rwanda, the Liberian delegation visited the Gacaca Archives and the Campaign Against Genocide Museum. In South Africa, it visited the Apartheid Museum and Freedom Park. UNDP said South Africa’s Minister of Sport, Arts and Culture, Gayton McKenzie, pledged technical support for Liberia’s project.

The three-day committee meeting is expected to consider archives management, institutional partnerships, museum design, public education and steps toward construction. Historians, researchers, educators, civil society organizations, survivors, young people and affected communities are expected to contribute to the project’s development.

Historical recovery and public memory

The proposed museum is intended to preserve the history of Liberia’s civil wars, honor victims and survivors, and help educate future generations about the human cost of conflict and the importance of sustaining peace. UNDP said the institution is expected to collect, verify, preserve and digitize photographs, government records, audiovisual materials and survivor testimonies.

The project forms part of the National Historical Recovery Initiative, launched during Liberia’s 179th Independence Day celebrations in Buchanan, Grand Bassa County, in July 2026. The initiative seeks to recover historical records, including materials held abroad, and place Liberians at the center of documenting and telling their history.

UNDP places the estimated death toll from Liberia’s 1989–2003 civil wars at about 250,000, with hundreds of thousands displaced. The proposed museum follows President Boakai’s public apology on behalf of the Liberian State to people affected by the conflicts.

While the signing of the charter establishes a governance structure and the next phase of technical planning, the UNDP statement did not announce a construction start date, completion timetable, project budget or confirmed site for the museum. Those details remain important to watch as the steering committee begins its work.

HeartTalk Network will follow the committee’s deliberations and report on decisions concerning the museum’s design, historical archives, public participation, funding and implementation.

Sources

• UNDP Liberia, November 14, 2026: President Boakai Signs Historic Peace Museum Charter Ahead of National Steering Committee Inauguration.
• HeartTalk Network’s earlier report on the proposed Civil War Memorial model.