ActionAid Liberia, Civil Society Petition Legislature on Debt and Climate Justice
Lawmakers Receive Monrovia Declaration, Pledge Legislative Review and Plenary Discussion
MONROVIA, Liberia — ActionAid Liberia and a coalition of more than 20 leading civil society organizations, and climate justice activists have petitioned the House of Representatives, presenting the Monrovia Declaration on Debt and Climate Justice and calling on lawmakers to champion debt relief, calling for increased climate financing and policies that put people and communities at the center of Liberia’s development.
The declaration was presented to the House through its Committee on Claims and Petitions as part of the ongoing National Debt and Climate Justice Campaign, which seeks to draw national and international attention to the relationship between Liberia’s growing debt burden, climate vulnerability and the country’s ability to finance essential public services.
Receiving the petition were Montserrado County District #9 Representative and Chairperson of the House Committee on Claims and Petitions, Prince Toles, and Bong County District #4 Representative Robert Flomo Womba.
Representative Toles welcomed the petition and commended ActionAid Liberia and its civil society partners for raising what he described as critical issues concerning Liberia’s public debt and the growing impacts of climate change.
“This is a beautiful idea. We will have much discussion about it in plenary and we will present it to the leadership to discuss it, because making decisions is not about one person; it’s everyone,” Rep. Toles told the petitioners.
He assured the coalition that the declaration would be formally presented for consideration, despite the Legislature currently being on break.
“We are on a break right now, but Hon. Womba and I will present this document to the body,” he said.
Rep. Toles indicated that the petition would be presented to the committee for review, paving the way for further legislative consideration and discussion.
Presenting the declaration on behalf of the coalition, Lawrence Yealue, Chairperson of the National Civil Society Council of Liberia, said the gathering at the Legislature was not a protest, but a democratic call for action on an issue affecting the lives and future of Liberians.
“We have come here today not to protest, but to present a petition that represents the collective voice of civil society organizations and citizens of Liberia,” Yealue said. “This declaration is backed by research conducted by ActionAid Liberia and reflects our shared concern over Liberia’s growing debt burden and the urgent need for debt justice and climate justice.”
The petition follows the launch of the National Debt and Climate Audit Report, which examines the relationship between Liberia’s public debt, climate vulnerability, domestic resource mobilization and sustainable development.
Liberia’s public debt was estimated at US$2.84 billion as of March 2026, according to government figures cited during the campaign. Civil society organizations argue that the growing debt burden and associated debt-servicing obligations are shrinking the fiscal space available for government to adequately finance education, healthcare, roads, climate resilience and other essential public services.
Yealue said Liberia faces an even greater injustice because the country has contributed very little to the global climate crisis but remains highly vulnerable to its consequences, including flooding, coastal erosion and other climate-related disasters.
“The countries of the Global North have historically contributed the most to climate change,” he said. “As they continue to ask countries like Liberia to preserve our forests and protect the environment, they must also take responsibility by providing debt relief and increased climate financing. We are not the cause of this crisis, yet we are paying the highest price.”
He called on the Liberian Legislature to use its national and international influence to advocate for debt justice, including fairer global financial policies, debt relief and increased access to climate finance for vulnerable countries such as Liberia.
The presentation of the Monrovia Declaration marks another major step in ActionAid Liberia’s ongoing National Debt and Climate Justice Campaign, under the theme: “Who Owes Who? Join the Campaign and Have Your Say.”
The campaign challenges the existing global financial and climate systems and calls for debt and climate policies to be addressed together. It argues that excessive debt-servicing obligations can undermine Liberia’s ability to invest its limited resources in climate adaptation and mitigation while financing critical national development priorities.
The Monrovia Declaration emerged from findings and recommendations contained in the National Debt and Climate Audit Report commissioned by ActionAid Liberia.
Before its presentation to the Legislature, leaders and representatives of more than 20 civil society organizations formally signed the declaration, demonstrating a collective commitment to advocate for its recommendations at both the national and international levels.
Civil society leaders say their advocacy will not end with the presentation of the petition to the Legislature. They intend to continue mobilizing citizens and engaging national decision-makers while taking Liberia’s debt and climate justice demands to regional and global platforms, including COP31.
For ActionAid Liberia and its civil society partners, the Monrovia Declaration represents a unified demand for a fairer global financial and climate system one that recognizes the disproportionate burden carried by countries such as Liberia and enables governments to invest more of their resources in protecting people, strengthening public services and building climate-resilient communities.
ActionAid’s global debt and climate justice campaign, “Who Owes Who?”, challenges the unequal global financial system that leaves many countries in the Global South struggling with mounting debt while also bearing the greatest impacts of a climate crisis they contributed least to creating.
ActionAid’s Who Owes Who? External Debts, Climate Debts and Reparations report found that 54 countries were in debt crisis entering 2025, forcing many governments to divert scarce public resources from healthcare, education, climate action and other essential services to service external debt.
The campaign argues that the debt conversation must go beyond what developing countries owe their creditors and recognize the enormous climate and historical debts owed by wealthy countries to the Global South. ActionAid estimates that rich, high-polluting countries owe low- and lower-middle-income countries about US$107 trillion in climate debt more than 70 times their combined external debt of US$1.45 trillion.
Through the campaign, ActionAid and its partners are calling for urgent debt cancellation, reform of the global financial architecture, and significantly increased grant-based climate finance rather than loans that further deepen indebtedness.
Liberia’s National Debt and Climate Justice Campaign and the Monrovia Declaration form part of this broader global movement demanding a fairer financial system that puts people, rights and the planet before debt repayments.