The Liberian Government has adopted a 10-year National Security Strategy following two years of an extensive assessment of the operating environments in the 15 counties of Liberia. The 10-year National Security Strategy spanning from 2026-2036 was launched by President Joseph N. Boakai at the Executive Mansion on Wednesday, June 3. 2026.
Information Minister Jerolinmek M. Piah made the disclosure at the Ministry of Information's regular press briefing held Thursday, June 4.

Minister Piah said the formulation of the National Security Strategy was based on local community concerns, border and Maritime vulnerabilities, transitional crimes, risks posed by climate change, technological threats in cyberspace, and age-old social and economic challenges with great potential to cause instability nationwide. Minister Piah said these imminent threats, which are evidence-based, necessitated the government to seek counsel from legal experts, security institutions, specialized technical groups and civil servants to map the threats and capacities.

He said consultations were also held with regional partners and development agencies, including the Folke Bernadotte Academy, the U.S and Swedish Governments, the United Nations, ECOWAS in order to align the strategy with evolving West African and international security architectures. The new National Security Strategy is a shift from reactive and sectoral responses to an integrated, anticipatory, and whole-of-society security architecture, unlike in the past, focused primarily on immediate kinetic threats or isolated institutional responsibilities.

The new strategy emphasized "anticipation and prevention by investing in early warning, risk informed planning, and resilience-building before the crisis escalates. The strategy integrates across domains -land, sea, air, cyberspace and the economic and social spheres, to address the interdependence of modern threats. The National Security Strategy is a coherent civil-security collaboration, aligning the operations of security institutions with public health, education, Justice, livelihoods and local governance. 

The Information Minister said at the heart of the National Security Strategy is a simple transformative principle, where security must serve the people, and the people must be an active part of delivering security. The new security strategy affirms that "a secure Liberia is not achieved by instrument of force alone, but rather it is secured when citizens trust institutions and communities participate in safety planning.

It said, "when the rule of law protects rights, and when opportunities reduce incentives for crimes and conflict," is a people-centered security architecture, the government said. The new National Security Strategy required community engagement and local ownership, and the strengthening of county and district-level security committees. It emphasized protection of rights and accountability, integrated human rights training, oversight, and community complaint mechanism in order to build trust and legitimacy.

It promotes inclusive prevention, prioritizes youth employment programs, education, social reintegration to address root causes of insecurity and prevent youth recruitment into violent and criminal networks. The new security strategy focused on gender sensitive policies aimed at ensuring women and girls' safety and that leadership are central to national security outcomes. It also emphasized public information and resilience gears towards expanding public awareness, campaigns, digital literacy, and creating early warning community platforms for citizens to recognize, report, and respond to threats together with authorities.

The new security strategy focused on partnership-driven capacity building to strengthen cooperation with regional and International organizations, development partners, civil society, and the private sector in order to amplify resources, technical skills, and oversight.