Published: October 23, 2026
Monrovia – The Chairperson and Chief Executive Officer of the Law Reform Commission of Liberia (LRC), Cllr. Bornor M. Varmah, has pledged to include civil society organizations (CSOs) in all law reform processes the Commission undertakes, as Liberia moves to overhaul its outdated mining law.
Cllr. Varmah made the commitment on Wednesday, October 21, 2026, while delivering the keynote address at the Multi-Stakeholder Dialogue on Minerals, Mining, and Inclusive Sustainable Development.
The CSO Consortium on Mining, comprising Integrity Watch Liberia, CENTAL, Sustainable Development Institute (SDI), Sustain Earth and Equity Defenders (SEED), ActionAid, Media Liberia, and others, organized and hosted the dialogue at D’Calabash, Congo Town.
The event brought together civil society actors, representatives of mining-affected communities, members of the Senate and House Committees on Lands, Mines, Energy and Natural Resources, senior government officials, the private sector including ArcelorMittal Liberia, and international development partners including the Embassy of Ireland, and the MCC Compact Team / Liberia Development Team (LDT).
Delivering his keynote on the theme “Minerals, Mining and Inclusive Sustainable Development in Liberia,” Cllr. Varmah said the central question facing the nation is “how can the mineral wealth of Liberia finally work for the people of Liberia?”
He told stakeholders that under Article 7 of the 1986 Constitution, the State is obligated to manage natural resources for the general welfare of Liberians, but the current statutory framework fails that mandate.
“Does our current statutory mining framework adequately empower the State to execute this constitutional mandate? From the LRC perspective, we will say No,” Varmah stated.
He described the Minerals and Mining Law of 2000 as obsolete, noting it was enacted before key regulatory bodies like the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), National Bureau of Concessions, and Liberia Revenue Authority (LRA) existed, and now conflicts with the Land Rights Act of 2018.
“The current Minerals and Mining Law of 2000 is outdated… It leaves mine safety, explosives management, and community grievance systems without proper legal backing. A statutory regime that is fragmented and obsolete fundamentally impairs law enforcement and undermines public trust,” he said.
Cllr. Varmah announced that the LRC, with support from the National Legislature, Ministries of Finance and Development Planning, Mines and Energy, and the MCC Compact, will lead the technical legal Secretariat for a comprehensive reform and drafting of a new mining law, declaring: “Liberia does not need another patch. Liberia needs a modern, comprehensive and harmonized mining law.”
On the angle of inclusion, the LRC Boss stressed that law reform can no longer be an exclusive government exercise.
“Law reform is never the work of one institution. It requires the Legislature, which makes the law; the Executive, which implements it; the private sector, which invests under it; our development partners, who support it; and above all, civil society and affected communities, who live with its consequences every single day,” Cllr. Varmah emphasized.
He assured participants that the Commission has received the Civil Society Reform Proposal developed by community representatives and CSOs on October 1 in Monrovia, and that it is under review to form part of the new legal framework.
He further outlined seven pillars to guide the reform: harmony in the law, respect for community rights, inclusion and gender justice, transparency and accountability, environmental stewardship and safety, certainty for responsible investment, and a rightful place for artisanal and small-scale miners in Gbarpolu, Grand Cape Mount, Nimba and beyond.
Warning that Liberia is on the threshold of a new mineral boom driven by iron ore, gold and critical minerals, Varmah cautioned: “History has taught us, at great cost, that growth without inclusion and accountability breeds grievance, and that grievance can tear a nation apart.”
The dialogue, moderated by Cllr. Yah Parwon and opened by CSO Consortium Representative Silas Siakor, also featured a presentation of Civil Society Reform Priorities by SEED Executive Director Loretta Alethea Pope-Kai, high-level remarks from development partners, and stakeholder commitments to the Liberia Mineral and Mining Conference (LIMEC).
Cllr. Varmah concluded with a call for a shared national commitment “to give Liberia a mining law that is modern, harmonized, inclusive and faithful to Article 7 of our Constitution, a law under which the minerals beneath our soil truly serve the people who live upon it.”
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