Executive Mansion, Monrovia —President Joseph Nyuma Boakai, Sr., has signed Executive Order No. 159, consolidating and expanding the mandate of the Liberia Refugee Repatriation and Resettlement Commission (LRRRC) to strengthen national coordination on refugee protection, migration governance, statelessness response, and reintegration of returned Liberians.
The Executive Order incorporates provisions of Executive Order No. 144 while modernizing Liberia’s institutional framework to address evolving population movements, migration trends, and humanitarian challenges affecting the country.
In issuing the Order, President Boakai emphasized that Liberia continues to experience complex migration dynamics, including mixed migration flows, residual refugee populations, stateless persons in border communities, and the increasing return and deportation of Liberian nationals from abroad.
The President noted that a unified national coordination mechanism is essential to safeguarding national security, promoting social cohesion, and ensuring humanitarian protection.
Under Executive Order No. 159, the LRRRC’s mandate is expanded to include:
•Refugee protection and durable solutions, including asylum coordination, voluntary repatriation, local integration, and resettlement;
•Migration governance and coordination of border reception and migrant referral systems;
•Identification and response to statelessness, including data collection and nationality determination support;
•Reception, protection, and reintegration of deported and returned Liberians and internally displaced persons;
•Migration data management, research, and early warning analysis; and
•Policy coordination as the Government’s lead technical advisory body on refugee, migration, and returnee-related matters.
The Order further designates the LRRRC as Liberia’s central coordinating institution on all refugee, migration, statelessness, and returnee affairs, requiring full cooperation from relevant Ministries, Agencies, and Commissions.
Executive Order No. 159 also establishes a transitional governance framework pending legislative enactment creating the Refugee and Migration Commission of Liberia (RAMCOL), which will assume the responsibilities outlined in the Order upon its legal establishment.
Additionally, the Ministry of Finance and Development Planning has been directed to make appropriate fiscal and administrative arrangements to support the Commission’s expanded responsibilities, while the LRRRC is authorized to engage international partners and donors consistent with national priorities.
The Executive Director of the LRRRC will submit periodic implementation reports directly to the President to ensure accountability, effective oversight, and measurable progress.
President Boakai highlighted his Administration’s strive to responsible migration management, humanitarian protection, and sustainable reintegration policies that uphold Liberia’s international obligations while advancing national development objectives.
Executive Order No. 159 takes immediate effect and shall remain in force for one year from the date of issuance.
Source: Executive Mansion
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